Talking to Strangers

I've enjoyed everything Gladwell has written, and this work is no exception. It is both compelling and tragic. Take the former, and Gladwell's trademark style is to mix storytelling/appropriate journalism with deep psychological insights. Few (Michael Lewis, Steven Levitt) do it better. Next, consider the tragic. Owing to our inability to talk properly to strangers, Gladwell highlights numerous miscarriages of justice, ranging from wrongful imprisonment (and sometimes subsequent suicide) to Bernie Madoff's Ponzi Scheme. In terms of the former, there is a more apparent urgency in Talking to Strangers than some of Gladwell's other works. He highlights how (in the U.S.) misjudgment is/can often be exacerbated by racial bias. His assessment of police tactics is especially scathing — and rightly so based on what we learn. As ever, the sort of work (by Gladwell) that leaves you — as it should — looking at people in a whole new way for days after.

By Malcolm Gladwell