Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
Quick Synopsis: First, let me say this: listen to the audiobook. It’s the best audiobook you’ll ever hear. You’ll be spoiled and want all audiobooks to be presented this way.
Now for the synopsis: Beginning and ending with the story of Sandra Bland, this book takes a look at some of the harder stories of our society. A plethora of extremely complicated, real-life scenarios make it into the book and force us to rethink the way the incident was portrayed or how we ourselves might react. Why were parents so eager to believe Larry Nassar was doing what was best for their young gymnasts? Why did authorities not believe whistleblowers who sounded an early alarm on Bernie Madoff? Why did the officer arresting Sandra Bland take it so far in the wrong direction? Why did other countries actually believe Hitler when he said he was doing good things? How did experts at the CIA come to hire an actual Castro implant to lead their Cuban division? Again, get the audiobook—it includes actual interview footage from all of these and makes the book a great listen.
Why I Like It: I am a fan of Malcom Gladwell’s podcast, Revisionist History. He always makes me look at things differently, and Talking to Strangers was no different. I am intrigued by problems that seem to be caused partly by a systematic breakdown in communication, such as police shootings or how people can be so unaware of tricks, deceits, and intentional misleadings. Also, on a more personal note: Gladwell’s discussion of the Kansas City Experiment project was eye-opening. I finally began to understand the history of police profiling and why cops were at one point trained to pull over vehicles for every possible minor infraction. This realization helped me realize why the separation between law enforcement and communities grew into what it is today—and what we can do to bridge the divide.
Why You Might Like It: There’s a lot to this book, and every ounce of it is good, even if I don’t get to it in this review. The book itself is broken into five different parts, but perhaps Part Two: Default to Truth and Part Five: Coupling, are the most intriguing. Default to Truth explains how as humans we are wired to believe people are telling the truth, and coupling is the idea that a place is associated with an action—i.e. a high bridge is associated with suicide or a neighborhood is associated with higher incidents of arrest. These two concepts explain many, many things, including why people believed Hitler, Madoff, and Sandusky or why it is important to put suicide preventatives at the Golden Gate Bridge. It also dives deep into police/community relations and how we might do a better job when it comes to listening to strangers.
Remember—listen to it! The audiobook is worth every penny.
Want to listen to a trailer of the audiobook before you buy it? Just click on the picture or here for an excerpt.
