The Tipping Point

Title: The Tipping Point
Author: Gladwell, Malcolm
Publication: Little, Brown and Company, NY 2000

Reason, Type, & Setting: After Elika, my humanities teacher, assigned us to read an excerpt of this book, it inclined me to read more on how our society can cause a tipping point. I'd categorize this book as an informative social psychological book. It was very thought-provoking and reminded me of Freakanomics and Survival of the Sickest. I find these types of books very intriguing which is why I decided to read this book as well. I plan to read Blink, another of Malcolm Gladwell's books.

Plot: This book informs the reader of a compilation of studies that became very successful and recognizable in society, why certain trends become popular, and how the environment can affect the actions of others. These studies are broken down into philosophies such as: The Stickiness Factor (which my teacher had us read in class), The Law of the Few, and The Power of Context. The Stickiness Factor describes how little change can trigger a big result such as adding a map to a brochure talking of the importance of getting a tetanus shot at a University campus. The whole premise of this book is how certain factors affect/manipulate society.

Evaluation: This book, as I said before, was very intriguing and thought-provoking which I enjoyed very much. It is one of those books that can be a page turner. However, Gladwell seems to go into depth when it comes to these examples which is somewhat rather boring for me to read. For others, it may be a good thing. Other than that, I really enjoy reading books such as these. I'd recommend this to anyone since it really is an eye-opener.

Author/Trivia/Context: Malcolm Gladwell is a journalist and reporter for various newpapers such as The NewYorker and Washington Post. His other works include Blink.




Honors Due Date: May 12th