The Observer, December 8, 2006
Volume XXXIX, Issue 13
Tipping Point delivers entertainment, intellectual stimulation
As students, we have many demands on our time. Between sports practice, choir rehearsal, work-study programs and academics, we often lack time to curl up with a good book and just relax. Fortunatelly for me, I recently read Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point, which required that I clear my schedule and make some time for pleasure reading.
The Tipping Point is a national bestseller from 2000 that I found to be an easy-to-read, eloquently written, well-researched, and informative book. From page to page and chapter to chapter, I was continually surprised by the way in which Gladwell was able to utilize simple ideas to explain complex issues related to social, cultural and medical phenomena. Gladwell provides extensive explanations for a variety of phenomenon, from the popularity of name-brand shoes to increased rates of suicide in Micronesia, by describing these changes as epidemics that are comparable to viruses. By allowing his audience a better understanding of the people, messages, and contexts involved in spreading social epidemics, Gladwell provides readers with room to come up with their own ideas about how epidemics apply to their own interests. While covering a wide range of interests, Gladwell is able to utilize a writing style that provides for easy reading. As someone that tends to read slightly slower than the average reader, the nearly 300-page book only took me a few days to complete.
Senior political science major Chelsea Irvin commented that The Tipping Point "provides loads of knowledge." Similarly, Eugene Kim, a junior and a public health major, commented that the book is "more about psychology and epidemiology, but I found it in the 'marketing section.'" Kim also added that "like a business book, it's easy to read, but also solidly academic." In summary, Kim concluded that The Tipping Point is "entertaining enough that I would have read it even if it wasn't for a class. It's an absolutely bang-on book that gives some great insights into our lives as social and not just intellectual beings." Irvin and Kim's different areas of academic study and common enthusiasm for the book serve as proof that Gladwell's work is successful in maintaining wide appeal.
In summary, The Tipping Point is definitely a book worth any student's time. If you are the type that doesn't read unless its assigned reading, then perhaps even think about asking a professor about this book, as it can be applied to a variety of academic fields. If you have already read the Tipping Point, then refer to Malcom Gladwell's work as a journalist for The New York Times Magazine or try his second nationally bestselling book, Blink.
