Talking to Strangers Paperback – January 1, 2003

I know that not everyone likes him, and I'll admit that he sometimes keeps a narrow focus so as not to allow a wide variety of potential argument (which, I mean, of course he does; he writes books, not debates) but his subject matter is always so well-researched that I'm too fascinated with the topic at hand to mind all that other stuff.Gladwell is not a scientist (and doesn't claim to be). He's not even a sociologist (though I think his work offers some extremely engaging insight into contemporary social issues). What he is is a skilled and impassioned journalist. He covers issues he cares about, and that is apparent whether you're reading his words, or listening to him read them to you (this was a great audiobook).Talking to Strangers is a deep examination of the Sandra Bland case to ultimately explore why it is that we are so bad at communicating with people we don't know; and why the reasons we're bad at it may not actually be things that we necessarily want to change. Gladwell pulls in research from a wide variety of events, scandals, and cultural touchpoints like: Neville Chamberlain's missteps with Hitler, the Larry Nassar and Jerry Sandusky scandals, the Amanda Knox trial, Sylvia Plath's suicide, Kansas City's policing experiments, and more. Ultimately, as he always does, he handles this issue with tact, and delicacy, and leads the reader toward realizations about human behavior that are both hard to face, and valuable to assimilate.

Regardless of the truth or extent of his points, Gladwell tells hell of a story about embracing yourself for all of your quirks. Those societal systems that gave you so much grief through your life for being slightly different? They fail so miserably when they are meant to actually perform.They do not get to force you to change who you are, especially when they can't even deliver what they promise. Own your weirdness. Own your off-ness. Only those who embrace you are worthy of your love and pain.

Having a hard time getting into this book, but the beginning really makes me think.

What this book provokes is all kind of emotions, from disgusting to stisfaction in understanding deeper most of people... I say most because sometime not even one can understand him or her self... just imagine strangers.Its a roller coaster because there were moments in the ones I felt a little bored and unnecessary dialogs or explicit description of sexual judgement; I think that if there is something a little technic in between about certin serious themes in a book, that kind of core language is not necessary.Realy, there were moments in the ones I felt the book will never finish. Finally it did through many passages, dialogs and understanding... sometimes story telling is not that detailed while it can make you bored, however the book is really exciting...!

Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don't Know is a non-fiction book by Malcolm Gladwell. In the book, Gladwell examines how we interact with people we don't know and why those interactions can sometimes go wrong.Gladwell argues that humans are not very good at detecting deception in others, and we often default to trusting people we don't know. He uses several case studies, including the case of Amanda Knox and the Stanford prison experiment, to illustrate how our assumptions about people can lead us astray.Gladwell also explores the concept of "default to truth," which is the idea that people generally believe what others tell them. This can be a useful heuristic in many situations, but it can also lead to disastrous consequences when we trust the wrong people.Throughout the book, Gladwell weaves together insights from psychology, sociology, and criminology to shed light on how we can improve our interactions with strangers. He argues that we need to be more aware of our own biases and limitations when it comes to understanding people we don't know.Overall, Talking to Strangers is a thought-provoking book that challenges readers to think more critically about how they interact with strangers. Gladwell's accessible writing style and engaging anecdotes make the book an enjoyable read, while his insights and ideas will leave readers thinking long after they've finished the book.

Awesome read...wanted to reread almost immediately! Left me wondering about the tenets of Blink and this book.

Great buy, good price.

Love this book. Fast read, because it was so interesting. Anyone who regularly interacts with strangers: you must read this.

Me ha parecido una lectura muy interesante.

There's a lot to learn from the book, although you get the feeling that he is just repackaging someone else's literature. First chapters hinge together well but later the book trails off. Fun read.

Il libro affronta casi reali in dettaglio per spiegare differenti concetti in un percorso che conduce a rivelare i motivi dietro agli errori che commettiamo quando interagiamo con gli sconosciuti. Se, da una parte, per quanto viene spiegato nel libro non posso che consigliarlo a tutti, dall’altra gli argomenti trattati non sono per tutti.

J'ai bien aimé lire ce livre, pas vraiment un livre de communication, mais plus un décryptage des erreurs que nous commettons tous en nous adressant à des inconnus.J'ai principalement retiré 3 leçons de son livre, entre le "default to truth", les visages qui ne disent pas toujours la vérité et la dernière leçon, la plus importante.Un livre à lire IMPERATIVEMENT si vous êtes dans la communication, policier, avocat !

Malcolm Gladwell is an outstanding writer and modern philosopher-anthropologist.