Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know
- Downloads：4180
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-09-29 01:19:21
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Malcolm Gladwell
- ISBN：0316299227
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Trisha Camosy Knuth
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4。5
Kailee’s Book Nook
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Great audiobook！ I’ve loved all his books。 This one touched on default truth and our instincts to assume transparency in our interactions with others。
Katherine Seibert
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6。5/10。 It was undoubtedly an interesting read and one that I will think about for a while。 The big point of assuming things about strangers we don't truly know and always defaulting to the truth certainly rings very true。 The stories within the book are a scary reminder that we don't really know anyone like we think we do， and we truly aren't the perceptive people readers that we think we are。 However， the tone in some parts of the book are highly apologetic and left a bad taste。 Regarding the 6。5/10。 It was undoubtedly an interesting read and one that I will think about for a while。 The big point of assuming things about strangers we don't truly know and always defaulting to the truth certainly rings very true。 The stories within the book are a scary reminder that we don't really know anyone like we think we do， and we truly aren't the perceptive people readers that we think we are。 However， the tone in some parts of the book are highly apologetic and left a bad taste。 Regarding the Sandra Bland and Brock Turner cases， the author take the approach of explaining （at at times， it seems supporting） the offender's point of view。 It is a dangerous line to toe and something I did not enjoy about the book。 。。。more
Dino Atza
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Link alla recensione: https://www。instagram。com/p/CUVfFPLMt1s/ Link alla recensione: https://www。instagram。com/p/CUVfFPLMt1s/ 。。。more
Sarah
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A lot to think about。 I like that Gladwell redid the audiobook version more as a podcast， but sometimes the audio quality made it hard to understand。
Yordanos
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I have read several Gladwell books so far， and this is by far the worst。 It made me wonder how I'd feel about the others I previously read if I were to read them again now。 That's for another time -- for this， while there were some interesting， and even amusing， points in this book， it left me feeling underwhelmed overall。 More than that， there were numerous parts of the book that I plain disagreed with because the argument leaps and narrative connections Gladwell makes seriously need further ev I have read several Gladwell books so far， and this is by far the worst。 It made me wonder how I'd feel about the others I previously read if I were to read them again now。 That's for another time -- for this， while there were some interesting， and even amusing， points in this book， it left me feeling underwhelmed overall。 More than that， there were numerous parts of the book that I plain disagreed with because the argument leaps and narrative connections Gladwell makes seriously need further evaluations。There is an interesting thesis at play here but the way the supposed supporting arguments/stories and research are presented is shallow， and lacking holistic depth。 This is more of a demonstration of Gladwell's confirmation bias and narrative-weaving skills。Disappointing。 。。。more
Kasey
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Do not listen to this book on the way to work if you are an educator。 It's not what you want to be thinking about。 A lot of tough stuff to hear and think about。 I only listen to books or podcasts in the car， so once I started， I couldn't just stop。Why is it hard to talk to strangers？ Why is it hard to believe people？ Is our "default to truth" a flaw in our humanity？ Do not listen to this book on the way to work if you are an educator。 It's not what you want to be thinking about。 A lot of tough stuff to hear and think about。 I only listen to books or podcasts in the car， so once I started， I couldn't just stop。Why is it hard to talk to strangers？ Why is it hard to believe people？ Is our "default to truth" a flaw in our humanity？ 。。。more
Christinedoc
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Some interesting points about assumption of behavior and expectations， but also had issues with the framing of some very controversial topics。 Often seems to be minimizing the role of institutional structures and somehow also individual responsibilities in analyzing outcomes of events。 The analysis seemed aimed and framed to fit the narrative rather than providing a holistic view of factors that caused or created an environment to contribute to outcomes。
S。G。D。 Singh
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The audiobook is a MUST！ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💔💔
Daniel Harding
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1。 Started off well， lost me in the middle2。 Feels like a long winded way of making a handful （albeit， interesting） points3。 The writing style was good and enjoyable4。 Fizzes like a thriller5。 Not sure what the conclusion was。。。
Chandler
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Great story-telling， great audio production， but very little in actual analysis or advice。 Gladwell's main points are that we don't know people as well as we think we do。 Our natural instinct is to trust that people are being truthful， yet that can get us into trouble。 While I wasn't aware of the details of many of the discussed stories， that wasn't why I was reading the book。 I wanted more social science， and less entertaining stories about the atrocities of our day。。。 as I see them already。 It Great story-telling， great audio production， but very little in actual analysis or advice。 Gladwell's main points are that we don't know people as well as we think we do。 Our natural instinct is to trust that people are being truthful， yet that can get us into trouble。 While I wasn't aware of the details of many of the discussed stories， that wasn't why I was reading the book。 I wanted more social science， and less entertaining stories about the atrocities of our day。。。 as I see them already。 It is very apparent that we are not good at determining whether or not strangers are who they say they are。 From the small， everyday misunderstandings or betrayals to the large and terrifying ones， it is obvious that people are different and do not think the same。 This book offers few points of actual advice or solution。 These stories are important to hear and understand， but I don't know if this is the right book in which to tell them。Listened to the audiobook。 Definitely felt like a podcast。 Good quality。 。。。more
Stephanie
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3。5 stars。 I listened to this one。 Definitely some interesting stuff。 I learned a lot and gave me some things to think about， but it felt fairly disjointed。 It also deals with a lot of heavy things-rape， pedophiles， suicide， racism。
Sydney Kasner
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Well， way more interesting than I anticipated！！ Really enjoyed this and the way the message is told through stories。
Amanda Willaims
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TW: mention of rape/pedophilia。 If I could go back in time and prevent any disaster from happening， I'd chose to prevent this book from ever being released。 Honestly， I'd rather claw out my eyes and give them to Jeffery Dahmer to cook than ever picking this book up again。 The entire book has led me to assume that Gladwell's on heroin。 'Cause what sober person thinks that excusing an actual RAPIST is okay？ Not just any rapist， but Brock Turner: you know。。。 The sick， half-witted， morally incompete TW: mention of rape/pedophilia。 If I could go back in time and prevent any disaster from happening， I'd chose to prevent this book from ever being released。 Honestly， I'd rather claw out my eyes and give them to Jeffery Dahmer to cook than ever picking this book up again。 The entire book has led me to assume that Gladwell's on heroin。 'Cause what sober person thinks that excusing an actual RAPIST is okay？ Not just any rapist， but Brock Turner: you know。。。 The sick， half-witted， morally incompetent moron that raped an unconscious girl （that 2 people thought was dead）？ Why are you giving the frat boy that raped an UNCONSCIOUS girl benefit of the doubt？ Pretty sure Gladwell uses the double standard of "He wasn't himself， he was drunk/if she didn't want it she shouldn't get drunk" argument。 I swear this would be my 13th reason why。 Everything in this was pure torture for me to get through， and It's even more pain-inducing when he tries to do an "aha， gotcha" moment。 Oh， and did I mention he tries to analyze pedophiles？ Cause he does that， too。To say that I hate this book from the bottom of my heart would be an understatement， and I sincerely hope that filth like this will get rejected and crucified in front of an audience。 。。。more
Shru
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He brings excellent stories from across the world and across different times to the table - each with their own lessons to learn。 The final chapter ties them all together well。
Joomi Lee
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I was unable to finish my library e-book checkout because an unauthorized user deleted it off the smart phone I owned at the time。 I do intend to check it out again and read it from cover to cover even though it contains a lot of profanity。
Berislav Babic
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As usual， Gladwell turns your beliefs on their head as he guides us through a couple of stories where good people were perceived as bad， and vice versa。 It all lies in our evolutional direction to trust that people are generally good。 There are some mismatched people （where their behaviour makes them look like a good/bad person） and it's really hard to figure out what is the truth。 But from an evolutionary perspective we have to believe that most of the people are doing good （while having trust As usual， Gladwell turns your beliefs on their head as he guides us through a couple of stories where good people were perceived as bad， and vice versa。 It all lies in our evolutional direction to trust that people are generally good。 There are some mismatched people （where their behaviour makes them look like a good/bad person） and it's really hard to figure out what is the truth。 But from an evolutionary perspective we have to believe that most of the people are doing good （while having trust that there are enough of those hermits who will properly recognise the warning signs and expose wrongdoers in time）。 。。。more
Jonathan
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Who knew non-fiction could be as addictive as a paperback novel？ I listened to the audiobook which was especially engaging， bringing together podcast type elements with Gladwell reading。Gladwell truly is a master writer， weaving together seemingly unconnected stories to make poignant， helpful and thought provoking points。 I especially enjoyed how Gladwell transcends unhelpful polarised rhetoric to make arguments that at times seem "conservative" and other times "liberal。" Gladwell is a refreshin Who knew non-fiction could be as addictive as a paperback novel？ I listened to the audiobook which was especially engaging， bringing together podcast type elements with Gladwell reading。Gladwell truly is a master writer， weaving together seemingly unconnected stories to make poignant， helpful and thought provoking points。 I especially enjoyed how Gladwell transcends unhelpful polarised rhetoric to make arguments that at times seem "conservative" and other times "liberal。" Gladwell is a refreshingly sane voice。 Warning: It is pretty graphic （sexual abuse， suicide and torture feature heavily）。 。。。more
Breanne
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This wasn’t nearly as compelling as his other books。 Firstly， it wasn’t quite the topic that I thought from the title。 I thought it’d be more studies around what was learned from talking to diverse options。 Rather， these were cases that had more to do with what happens when we default to trusting strangers。 Even so， the connection of his case studies all through miscommunication was a stretch。 He discussed topics of rape， sodomy， assault， racism and suicide—and oversimplified it way too much。
Caroline Bell
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This was some white bullshit。 While I appreciated the perspective of an influential white man ……。 This was mediocre at best and triggering and invalidating at worst。 My take on this is especially framed by the fact that I just finished reading “when they call you a terrorist” by Patrisse Cullors & Asha Bandele - this was personal， evocative， and gorgeously written and hence my take on this cold and in-compassionate book。 This felt like I was listening to a liberal， wealthy， older， white make spe This was some white bullshit。 While I appreciated the perspective of an influential white man ……。 This was mediocre at best and triggering and invalidating at worst。 My take on this is especially framed by the fact that I just finished reading “when they call you a terrorist” by Patrisse Cullors & Asha Bandele - this was personal， evocative， and gorgeously written and hence my take on this cold and in-compassionate book。 This felt like I was listening to a liberal， wealthy， older， white make speak about race and implicit bias in such a round about fashion at a public community meeting。 。。。more
Aritra Jyoti Chakraborty
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Really intriguing piece of reading。 Filled with vivid case studies that illustrate how strangers can influence the lives of people。 After reading this people will be much more mindful about talking to strangers。
Mimi
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An insightful look into what it means to "read" strangers。 Whether it's due to our own prejudices or defaults， it's certainly worth think of how we perceive others。 An insightful look into what it means to "read" strangers。 Whether it's due to our own prejudices or defaults， it's certainly worth think of how we perceive others。 。。。more
Rebecca
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Interesting book， but the title is kinda misleading。 Definitely do the audio book， they put the real recordings of many of the stories。 Coupling is an interesting concept that is try to remember to reframe my perspective。
Dedy Davitra
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Love it。 I basically agree with what he said on these book。 I had some opinion on this book to: How we can know about someone， if we don't know who is them as a personally？ Love it。 I basically agree with what he said on these book。 I had some opinion on this book to: How we can know about someone， if we don't know who is them as a personally？ 。。。more
Пётр
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Отличная работа Малкольма Гладуэлла， которая поднимает множество существующих， но достаточно неочевидных проблем （вообще-то они очевидны， но мы редко обращаем на них внимание， т。к。 они， по сути， инкорпорированы в нашу жизнь с рождения） и описывает ряд интересных феноменов， которые произрастают из того， что человеку крайне трудно интерпретировать слова и поведение другого человека。 Я всегда учитывал фактор "другого мировоззрения и угла обзора" в своей жизни， однако прочитав данную книгу даже буду Отличная работа Малкольма Гладуэлла， которая поднимает множество существующих， но достаточно неочевидных проблем （вообще-то они очевидны， но мы редко обращаем на них внимание， т。к。 они， по сути， инкорпорированы в нашу жизнь с рождения） и описывает ряд интересных феноменов， которые произрастают из того， что человеку крайне трудно интерпретировать слова и поведение другого человека。 Я всегда учитывал фактор "другого мировоззрения и угла обзора" в своей жизни， однако прочитав данную книгу даже будучи в этой отправной точке я нашел для себя не только единомышленника в виде автора， но и множество новых интересных идей， логически проистекающих из осознания того， что мы у каждого человека свой мир в голове и что окружающая среда сильно влияет на поведение человека。 Спасибо， Малколм， за достойный труд！ =） 。。。more
Alice Chau-Ginguene
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Malcolm Gladwell doesn’t disappoint。 Entertaining insightful eye opening read。 I will definitely be more careful of my own biased when interacting with new people going forward。
Kerri
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I listened to this book on audio， read by the author。 He has such a great voice and it enhanced the experience。 What a provocative book！ At times I was so angry by the injustice of certain situations snd the long-lasting impact some decisions had on people’s lives。 But， I also found the examples chosen to be so insightful and fascinating。 Some I recall from the news， others I learned for the first time。 A good book stays with you long after reading it - I believe this will be one of those books。
Amy
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Ehhh。 3。5 Stars。 It is pretty interesting but something I'd rather watch a documentary on rather than read。 Don't know that I agree with some of it either。Content warnings: graphic discussion of sexual abuse， pedophilia， and suicide。 Ehhh。 3。5 Stars。 It is pretty interesting but something I'd rather watch a documentary on rather than read。 Don't know that I agree with some of it either。Content warnings: graphic discussion of sexual abuse， pedophilia， and suicide。 。。。more
Meagan Arthur
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Is Malcolm Gladwell a misogynist hack？ To say I had higher expectations of his analysis is an understatement。 There were interesting questions asked in this book， but the way these questions are answered exhibits a lot of unexamined sociological assumptions。 Gladwell blames the Penn State pedophilia scandal on what he calls the “default to truth” fallacy， assuming good intentions of the head of the sports program without any nuance， instead of acknowledging the power relations at play and the li Is Malcolm Gladwell a misogynist hack？ To say I had higher expectations of his analysis is an understatement。 There were interesting questions asked in this book， but the way these questions are answered exhibits a lot of unexamined sociological assumptions。 Gladwell blames the Penn State pedophilia scandal on what he calls the “default to truth” fallacy， assuming good intentions of the head of the sports program without any nuance， instead of acknowledging the power relations at play and the likely insidious motivations these powerful men had in the cover up。 He blames Brock Turner’s rape on the “myopia” theory of alcohol， again taking away Turner’s culpability and assuming this is a communication problem， instead of a power problem。 He also suggests Cortes most likely killed Montezuma and destroyed the Aztecs because of a…translation issue？ Instead of understanding the brutal colonialist efforts that led to that genocide？ Other examples are handled with more care， but of such a famous academic I thought these were very obvious analytical flaws。 Acknowledging power would have been so easy and might have given credibility to some of these theories。 This was a disappointing and probably very harmful book。 。。。more
Melanie
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