Outliers: The Story of Success is the third nonfiction book written by Malcolm Gladwell.
Generally well received by critics, Outliers was considered more personal than Gladwell’s other works, and some reviews commented on how much Outliers felt like an autobiography.
In Outliers, Gladwell examines the factors that contribute to high levels of success.
Gladwell takes readers on an intellectual journey through the world of “outliers” — the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful.
Gladwell argues that success is tightly married to opportunity and time on task.
He asks the question: What makes high-achievers different? His answer is that people pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: That is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing.
Along the way, he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band.
