Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
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- Create Date：2021-04-21 11:57:31
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Susan Cain
- ISBN：0307352153
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Summary
The book that started the Quiet Revolution
At least one-third of the people we know are introverts。 They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over working in teams。 It is to introverts—Rosa Parks， Chopin， Dr。 Seuss， Steve Wozniak—that we owe many of the great contributions to society。
In Quiet， Susan Cain argues that we dramatically undervalue introverts and shows how much we lose in doing so。 She charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal throughout the twentieth century and explores how deeply it has come to permeate our culture。 She also introduces us to successful introverts—from a witty， high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks， to a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the power of questions。 Passionately argued， superbly researched， and filled with indelible stories of real people， Quiet has the power to permanently change how we see introverts and， equally important， how they see themselves。
Now with Extra Libris material， including a reader’s guide and bonus content。
At least one-third of the people we know are introverts。 They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over working in teams。 It is to introverts—Rosa Parks， Chopin， Dr。 Seuss， Steve Wozniak—that we owe many of the great contributions to society。
In Quiet， Susan Cain argues that we dramatically undervalue introverts and shows how much we lose in doing so。 She charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal throughout the twentieth century and explores how deeply it has come to permeate our culture。 She also introduces us to successful introverts—from a witty， high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks， to a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the power of questions。 Passionately argued， superbly researched， and filled with indelible stories of real people， Quiet has the power to permanently change how we see introverts and， equally important， how they see themselves。
Now with Extra Libris material， including a reader’s guide and bonus content。
Reviews
Amanda
，
I’ll be honest， this book was chosen by my book club and I had zero desire to read it。 I’ve never felt strongly opinionated on introverts -vs- extroverts， and always knew there were pros and cons and value to both personality types。 I， myself， am some sort of introvert-extrovert hybrid， so I also don’t relate strongly with one side over the other。 Despite my admittedly bad attitude going into the book， I really wanted to like it and find the value that others appear to have seen in it。 I mostly I’ll be honest， this book was chosen by my book club and I had zero desire to read it。 I’ve never felt strongly opinionated on introverts -vs- extroverts， and always knew there were pros and cons and value to both personality types。 I， myself， am some sort of introvert-extrovert hybrid， so I also don’t relate strongly with one side over the other。 Despite my admittedly bad attitude going into the book， I really wanted to like it and find the value that others appear to have seen in it。 I mostly failed。Part 1 came across as a jilted introvert throwing stones at extroverts。 Though occasionally admitting that not all personalities fit neatly into these stereotypes。。。。 the author nonetheless spent the first section stating these same stereotypes over and over。 There was so much repetition that I literally had to set timers to wake me up periodically so I could go back to reading。 I learned that extroverts make “rash decisions”， are “risk-takers”， and “dominant”。 They “blurt out things they never meant to say” and are “comfortable with conflict”。While introverts are “deliberate”， have “mighty powers of concentration” and are even “immune to the allures of wealth and fame”。 But。。。 “Having said all this， in Quiet we’ll try not to get too hung up on definitions。” Uh-huh。Part 2 is where you learn that no one really knows if nature or nurture is what causes people to be introverts or extroverts。 However， the lack of definitive information doesn’t stop her from babbling about it for 80 pages， in what feels like a rant she was having with herself。 I also began to question the author’s credibility when I read the following:“Low-reactive， extroverted children， of raised by attentive families in safe environments， can grow up to be energetic achievers with big personalities— the Richard Bransons and Oprahs of this world。” （Um。。。 Does she know anything about Oprah’s young life？）Part 3 caught my interest with the question of whether or not all cultures have an extrovert ideal。 At least， until I actually read the section which only covers two cultures- American and Chinese。 All Americans were portrayed as loud， dumb， jocks while all the Chinese were portrayed as quiet， odd， geniuses。 Part 4 was where the book actually turned into what I had expected！ Thoughts about how to succeed as an introvert， and how to help your introverted kids。 Unfortunately， this came more than 200 pages into a book that I almost abandoned multiple times， and then really didn’t say anything that wasn’t already common sense to me。 But it did convince me to rate it two stars instead of one。 。。。more
Tatum
，
Insightful read。
Laura Spinella
，
Are you kidding me？ Cain presents this as a factual exploration of introversion， and yet admits in the beginning that 'introversion' and 'extroversion' aren't truly delineated in any forum。 Furthermore， the concepts are not widely accepted by actual psychologists。 However， Cain plunges ahead with an entire book about 'introverts。' Very frustrating。Regardless， the individual chapters do explore actually researched characteristics and behaviors， such as sensitivity， collaboration， and risk aversio Are you kidding me？ Cain presents this as a factual exploration of introversion， and yet admits in the beginning that 'introversion' and 'extroversion' aren't truly delineated in any forum。 Furthermore， the concepts are not widely accepted by actual psychologists。 However， Cain plunges ahead with an entire book about 'introverts。' Very frustrating。Regardless， the individual chapters do explore actually researched characteristics and behaviors， such as sensitivity， collaboration， and risk aversion。 These are well-presented and thought-provoking， whether or not they fall under some dubious 'introvert' umbrella。 。。。more
sonja。marie
，
As an introvert that grew into introversion later in my 20’s， this book was an encouragement。 I had a notebook out taking notes after just 5 pages as Susan Cain truly captures the internal conflicts that introverts feel in a world that glorifies the opposite。 Oftentimes， introverts are pushed into careers， relationships， or personalities based on their introversion。 Susan breaks down the extroverted bias built into America's history， but emphasizes the important attitudes that introverts bring t As an introvert that grew into introversion later in my 20’s， this book was an encouragement。 I had a notebook out taking notes after just 5 pages as Susan Cain truly captures the internal conflicts that introverts feel in a world that glorifies the opposite。 Oftentimes， introverts are pushed into careers， relationships， or personalities based on their introversion。 Susan breaks down the extroverted bias built into America's history， but emphasizes the important attitudes that introverts bring to the table。 Highly suggest if you are an introvert， are in a relationship with an introvert， or run a team。 。。。more
Jonathan
，
For someone who is an extrovert， This book showed me that I gravitate towards a lot of introvert tendencies and gave me insight to the power of introversion
Jeff Lucas
，
Very informative。 Really enjoyed this book and took a lot from it！
Mary Yram
，
So excited and I'm already hooked！！ If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on NovelStar。 So excited and I'm already hooked！！ If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on NovelStar。 。。。more
Stephanie
，
An interesting read。 As a sensitive extrovert， th concepts felt very blurred for me。
Hadjer Kouidri
，
الكتاب مهم。。。 من نوعية الكتب التي تلقي الضوء على الطريق。。 تعرفك سوزان كين على نفسك。。 هل انت انطوائي ام انبساطي؟ وتعرفك ما معنى انطوائي。。。انبساطي سيما واننا لا نتمكن من الضبط الاصطلاحي الدقيق。。 الانطوائي او الانبساطي كنواة داخلية للسلوكيات الفردية。。 كمنطلق مهم يحدد ابعاد خياراتنا。قصص كثيرة توضح من خلالها الكاتبة فكرتها وهي حاجتنا مهما كانت سماتنا الشخصية الى حالات الهدوء والانطواء 。كذلك اهم شيء في الكتاب هو فكرة شخصية الموقف او situationists وهو الموقفية بحيث يؤكد عالم النفس والتر ميشيل على ان تع الكتاب مهم。。。 من نوعية الكتب التي تلقي الضوء على الطريق。。 تعرفك سوزان كين على نفسك。。 هل انت انطوائي ام انبساطي؟ وتعرفك ما معنى انطوائي。。。انبساطي سيما واننا لا نتمكن من الضبط الاصطلاحي الدقيق。。 الانطوائي او الانبساطي كنواة داخلية للسلوكيات الفردية。。 كمنطلق مهم يحدد ابعاد خياراتنا。قصص كثيرة توضح من خلالها الكاتبة فكرتها وهي حاجتنا مهما كانت سماتنا الشخصية الى حالات الهدوء والانطواء 。كذلك اهم شيء في الكتاب هو فكرة شخصية الموقف او situationists وهو الموقفية بحيث يؤكد عالم النفس والتر ميشيل على ان تعميماتنا لوصف بعضنا البعض تعتبر مظللة وليي هناك ذات مركزية （خجول。 عدواني。لطيف。。。。。） هناك ذوات متعددة حسب الموقف ص والموقف س 。وهذا ما يفسر الحيرة التي تنتابك وانت تقرا الكتاب وتقول （ لقد تغيرت。。 لقد اصبحت اكثر انبساطية。。。 لم اعد ذلك الانطوائي القديم。。 ）。。 ولكنك تستمر في شحن روحك من روحك ايها الجرم الصغير。。 。。。more
Ayat Khrisat
，
a lot of repeating of the same ideas， but very good in general。
Crystal
，
The greatest takeaway， which I’ve come to learn on my own after decades of feeling otherwise: “Don’t think of introversion as something that needs to be cured。” In fact， introversion is seen as a positive character trait in other cultures。 Be yourself and learn to work with what works for you！
Kate
，
This book made me feel seen and validated the value I bring to work in a world that’s so focused on the value of extroverts。 A must read for all people to just understand eachother better but especially helpful for managers who might only recognise the success of their loud employees。
Cindy Einhouse
，
Although the examples cited are very numerous and it reads like a text book sometimes， there are some helpful things to learn about people in this book。
ALMIRA MAE
，
It kept me completely enthralled all the way thru。 If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on Novel Star， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top
Nguyen Silver
，
Bản tuyên ngôn của người hướng nội - đây là đề mục đầu tiên trong cuốn sách và cũng là miêu tả ngắn gọn nhất về nó。 Đối với tôi， tác giả Susan Cain chính là một vị cứu tinh mà thông qua "Hướng Nội" của bà， tôi đã có cái nhìn chính xác và rõ rệt hơn về hình mẫu mà bản thân có thiên hướng giống với。 Những chương trong sách， giúp người hướng nội hiểu rõ hơn về bản chất sinh học， những suy nghĩ， hay khuynh hướng hành động của họ， để từ đó học có ý thức hơn về việc lựa chọn cách cân bằng cảm xúc， các Bản tuyên ngôn của người hướng nội - đây là đề mục đầu tiên trong cuốn sách và cũng là miêu tả ngắn gọn nhất về nó。 Đối với tôi， tác giả Susan Cain chính là một vị cứu tinh mà thông qua "Hướng Nội" của bà， tôi đã có cái nhìn chính xác và rõ rệt hơn về hình mẫu mà bản thân có thiên hướng giống với。 Những chương trong sách， giúp người hướng nội hiểu rõ hơn về bản chất sinh học， những suy nghĩ， hay khuynh hướng hành động của họ， để từ đó học có ý thức hơn về việc lựa chọn cách cân bằng cảm xúc， cách thức cư sử và giao tiếp， cách tự bảo vệ bản thân trong một xã hội - có thể nói rằng đang vô cùng đề cao sự Hướng Ngoại trong khi lại có cái nhìn thiếu thiện cảm với sự Hướng Nội。Tính cách có sức ảnh sâu vô cùng sắc đến cuộc sống của chúng ta。 Do đó việc xác định được mình tính cách của mình nằm ở đâu giữa hai cực bắc nam trong tính cách sẽ giúp ích rất nhiều。 Và tất nhiên， Hướng Nội là một cuốn sách không chỉ nên， mà có lẽ là phải đọc nếu bạn muốn có cái nhìn sâu hơn vào bên trong chính bản thân mình， để hiểu rõ hơn về tính cách của chính mình và từ đó dẫn tới những hành động phù hợp để có một cuốc sống cân bằng và hạnh phúc hơn。 。。。more
Maisarah
，
As a proud introvert， this has been on my list for ages！ Quite unfortunate that the world we live in tends to see more value in who’s the loudest in voice， rather than in substance。 I appreciate the different studies and examples shared， but the later chapters did have a tendency to compare introversion to extroversion too much， almost defensively even。 Still a great read。
Rachel Mary
，
I had moments of being iffy on this book- the middle few chapters were VERY science-y and weren’t what I was looking for when I picked this book up。 The beginning caught my attention， but the second half drove it home。 It was like it spoke right to me。 A must read for everyone， but very validating as an introvert， and as a teacher， to read。 Truly everyone should take the time to read this one。 It gave me a deeper appreciation for a lot of personal traits I know I have， and every parent， teacher， I had moments of being iffy on this book- the middle few chapters were VERY science-y and weren’t what I was looking for when I picked this book up。 The beginning caught my attention， but the second half drove it home。 It was like it spoke right to me。 A must read for everyone， but very validating as an introvert， and as a teacher， to read。 Truly everyone should take the time to read this one。 It gave me a deeper appreciation for a lot of personal traits I know I have， and every parent， teacher， and individual， no matter your personality type， could take something away from this book。 。。。more
Chuck Tulloh
，
Good book， shows a grasp of issues faced by the introvert in an extravert world， where the news media clearly look for the fastest talking， glitziest presenters they can find。 While the book implies it can help the introvert deal with a society where veracity and thorough analysis is rarely valued， it doesn't; it just tells you how to be like the extroverts。 So the quality of introversion that the author ostensibly values， is still out there alone。 Good book， shows a grasp of issues faced by the introvert in an extravert world， where the news media clearly look for the fastest talking， glitziest presenters they can find。 While the book implies it can help the introvert deal with a society where veracity and thorough analysis is rarely valued， it doesn't; it just tells you how to be like the extroverts。 So the quality of introversion that the author ostensibly values， is still out there alone。 。。。more
Rosa Ng
，
Love this book！ Kind of found myself in those pages。 Highly recommend to all parents， teachers， managers， leaders， introverts， extroverts。 This book is for everyone。
Debasmita Mohanty
，
If you are an introvert， pick this book up to understand yourself better。 If you are extrovert & have interest to understand introverts， then pick this up to better your understanding。 If you are somebody struggling to find your type， this book can help you。I found this novel informative。 It talks in depth about unfair treatment to introverts & also shares certain interesting research on myths held for introverts。 It speaks about leaders who have been staunch introverts in fields where extrovers If you are an introvert， pick this book up to understand yourself better。 If you are extrovert & have interest to understand introverts， then pick this up to better your understanding。 If you are somebody struggling to find your type， this book can help you。I found this novel informative。 It talks in depth about unfair treatment to introverts & also shares certain interesting research on myths held for introverts。 It speaks about leaders who have been staunch introverts in fields where extroversion is the norm。 It also cites possible reasons for the same。 The author writes at length about the power that introverts hold。 At the end， the author has shared certain tips on how to balance both introversion & extroversion in real life。 。。。more
Chris
，
Interesting and enjoyable read。 I’m skeptical of some of the claims on the research and conclusions that she seems to feel can be drawn。 But I might be reading something into it she didn’t intend。 The only other ding that took it from four to three stars for me was in her concluding note， she writes the way she means “introversion” is in a cultural sense， yet throughout the text she talks about research and things like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator。 For me， this confused the reading for me。 Pe Interesting and enjoyable read。 I’m skeptical of some of the claims on the research and conclusions that she seems to feel can be drawn。 But I might be reading something into it she didn’t intend。 The only other ding that took it from four to three stars for me was in her concluding note， she writes the way she means “introversion” is in a cultural sense， yet throughout the text she talks about research and things like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator。 For me， this confused the reading for me。 Perhaps if she’d made that observation beforehand it would’ve been more helpful。 Subjective， as are all these ratings。 。。。more
Evan
，
Preach， Susan！！
Anirudh
，
What if everyone in the world had the same personality？ I believe that would make the human race a lot less interesting， however， our societies do place higher importance on some personality types than others。 And one of those misunderstood personalities are those who identify themselves as introverts， considering they are often associated with being sad， cold， depressed， ‘not living their life’， etc。 It is possible that introverts might suffer from the above conditions but is not necessarily th What if everyone in the world had the same personality？ I believe that would make the human race a lot less interesting， however， our societies do place higher importance on some personality types than others。 And one of those misunderstood personalities are those who identify themselves as introverts， considering they are often associated with being sad， cold， depressed， ‘not living their life’， etc。 It is possible that introverts might suffer from the above conditions but is not necessarily the norm。 Susan Cain tries to uncover introverts in this book – to put these people out in a world that can’t stop talking。The book is split into four parts， the first explaining the ‘ideal extrovert’ the society tends to place an emphasis on， the second is the causes of personality types （biology， genetics， etc。）， the third part is about how different cultures around the world view personality types （the author assumes that her reader is an American） and finally how to work with the introverted personality type that people have。 The book is a mix of science – to what extent are they driven by genetics quoting from various studies and experiments; social norms – how much they influence personality types and also several anecdotes to explain various personal situations one might face （like a workplace situation） or social issues at large – such as the Civil Rights movement in the United States and the 2008 Financial Crisis。I found the book insightful as well as useful。 However， I am unsure as to how much of this is influenced by the fact that I could relate to the book considering I identify myself as one （and that is the assessment I receive from every personality test， including the famous Myers-Briggs test）。 The book also works on dispelling a lot of myths – that teams by default are more efficient and working alone is to be discouraged， that extroverted managers get the best results， etc。 The author also acknowledges at the outset that no individual is a total extrovert， or a complete introvert and people often adapt according to surroundings and thus， has sections on how introverts could get the best out of their personality type given the value placed extraversion。An issue I had with the book was that the author often indulged in what I would call ‘extrovert bashing’。 She tried to not only prove that extraversion does not have any correlation with efficiency， performance， or competence （could have stopped there）， but also tried to assert how introverts do most of the tasks better。 This seemed to go against the initial premise of the book which emphasised the need on every personality type。There were a lot of interesting points I noted， and the most interesting one I found was that babies who tend to be highly reactive grow up to be introverts and vice versa （my perception was quite the opposite）。 Something I would have been interested to know is how much environments and circumstances influence personality types， as I have read articles in reputed magazines such as The Economist which suggest that children from wealthy backgrounds tend to be extroverts as their position in the society gives them the confidence to be outspoken。To conclude， I would say that this is a good book， and could be insightful especially when someone close such as a partner or a child is of an opposite personality type。 On that note， I would rate this book four on five。 。。。more
Melina Beliera
，
DNF。 In all honesty I got so bored。 Let me first state that It delivers what it says it's going to: "Quiet， introvert people are as valuable as loud， extrovert people because of this and that"。 I just could not， for the life of me， keep listening to what it sounded like the same example， with the same conclusion， over and over and over again。 I don't know， I guess it just dindn't work for me。 DNF。 In all honesty I got so bored。 Let me first state that It delivers what it says it's going to: "Quiet， introvert people are as valuable as loud， extrovert people because of this and that"。 I just could not， for the life of me， keep listening to what it sounded like the same example， with the same conclusion， over and over and over again。 I don't know， I guess it just dindn't work for me。 。。。more
James Zhang
，
Too much fluff， waste of time
Seth
，
An influential person in my life recommended this title to me， but it took me a few tries to get started on it， as I feared it would be defensive or platitudinous。 My worries turned out to be misplaced， and I am glad that I stayed with it。 Cain details ways in which our world is currently set up to favor extroverts in so many areas， and makes the case that introverts have qualities that are of benefit。 The message of acceptance （self- and otherwise） is welcome。
Cyndee
，
As an introvert a lot of this book was just affirmation of what I already knew from living the experience， but I suppose it's good to feel less alone and also feel validated after a lifetime of feeling criticized/inadequate for not being outgoing enough。 The science about how introversion is related to increased sensitivity to stimulation and can be detected in babies was really interesting。 But I don't feel like I gained a lot of information that will help me navigate the world better。 I guess As an introvert a lot of this book was just affirmation of what I already knew from living the experience， but I suppose it's good to feel less alone and also feel validated after a lifetime of feeling criticized/inadequate for not being outgoing enough。 The science about how introversion is related to increased sensitivity to stimulation and can be detected in babies was really interesting。 But I don't feel like I gained a lot of information that will help me navigate the world better。 I guess the point is mainly self-esteem building， and perhaps to convince businesspeople/managers to better accommodate introvert employees。 So it's valuable that this book exists。 。。。more
Den Red
，
Wow。。。FANTASTIC book！ If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on Novel Star， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top
Bushra999
，
عجيب ذلك الشعور، أن يعبر الكاتب عنك، يصف شعورك، طريقتك، ميولك وكأنه يسكن وجدانك أنت أنت دون سواك。。。
Angela Zhao
，