Talking to Strangers
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4.3 • 33 Ratings
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- $26.99
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- $26.99
Publisher Description
Brought to you by Penguin.
The highly anticipated new book from Malcom Gladwell, host of the chart-topping podcast Revisionist History.
With original archival interviews and musical scoring, this enhanced audiobook edition of Talking to Strangers brings Gladwell's renowned storytelling to life in his unparalleled narrating style.
The routine traffic stop that ends in tragedy. The spy who spends years undetected at the highest levels of the Pentagon. The false conviction of Amanda Knox. Why do we so often get other people wrong? Why is it so hard to detect a lie, read a face or judge a stranger's motives?
Through a series of encounters and misunderstandings - from history, psychology and infamous legal cases - Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual adventure into the darker side of human nature, where strangers are never simple and misreading them can have disastrous consequences.
No one challenges our shared assumptions like Malcolm Gladwell. Here he uses stories of deceit and fatal errors to cast doubt on our strategies for dealing with the unknown, inviting us to rethink our thinking in these troubled times.
(C) 2019 Malcolm Gladwell (P) 2019 Malcolm Gladwell
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
Thought-provoking, just not fully satisfying
Thought-provoking, psychology-inspired take on why our communication with strangers can go awry. It discusses how our understanding of and assumptions about the truthfulness, outward transparency, and circumstances of strangers’ behaviours can benefit and/or backfire in different situations, using controversial and puzzling case studies ranging from espionage-gone-wrong to the consequences of paranoid policing tactics, as thought experiments.
However, one very important thing was downplayed: America’s problem with race. Institutionalised racial bias was hinted at, but nowhere near examined or appreciated enough. Perhaps it was outside of the scope of this book. However, if an author sets out to examine the potential factors that underpin problematic policing in the U.S., especially having mentioned Black Lives Matter - a discussion of racial discrimination is non-negotiable.
Fascinating
I’ll never look at a stranger in the same way again! Loved the audio version of this book which was in the format of a high quality podcast.