Talking to Strangers
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4.4 • 629 Ratings
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- $23.99
Publisher Description
A Best Book of the Year: The Financial Times, Bloomberg, Chicago Tribune, and Detroit Free Pres
Malcolm Gladwell, host of the podcast Revisionist History and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Outliers, offers a powerful examination of our interactions with strangers -- and why they often go wrong.
How did Fidel Castro fool the CIA for a generation? Why did Neville Chamberlain think he could trust Adolf Hitler? Why are campus sexual assaults on the rise? Do television sitcoms teach us something about the way we relate to each other that isn't true?
While tackling these questions, Malcolm Gladwell was not solely writing a book for the page. He was also producing for the ear. In the audiobook version of Talking to Strangers, you'll hear the voices of people he interviewed--scientists, criminologists, military psychologists. Court transcripts are brought to life with re-enactments. You actually hear the contentious arrest of Sandra Bland by the side of the road in Texas. As Gladwell revisits the deceptions of Bernie Madoff, the trial of Amanda Knox, and the suicide of Sylvia Plath, you hear directly from many of the players in these real-life tragedies. There's even a theme song - Janelle Monae's "Hell You Talmbout."
Something is very wrong, Gladwell argues, with the tools and strategies we use to make sense of people we don't know. And because we don't know how to talk to strangers, we are inviting conflict and misunderstanding in ways that have a profound effect on our lives and our world.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Malcolm Gladwell has created a thought-provoking exploration of how we respond to unfamiliar people and situations. In his always engaging and accessible way, the New Yorker writer explores how first encounters can have devastating consequences, from the fall of the Aztec empire to Fidel Castro fooling the CIA. If you like Revisionist History, Gladwell’s podcast, this audiobook will be a welcome surprise. With recordings of conversations, music, and interviews that aren’t included in the book, we were completely engrossed by the listening experience. Talking to Strangers feels like an important reminder to think twice before making snap judgments.
Customer Reviews
interesting
Helped explained the problems we have in our country while using big data to manipulate the masses we have created masses unjustices
Fantastic!
I recommend to any new or old fans of Malcolm Gladwell. Listened to it twice, I loved it so much.
Excellent
A must read , Gladwell does it again... truly makes you think about your own internal biases , the book is shocking , uncomfortable , and brings much needed awareness of how much more work needs to be done in how we talk to strangers.