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| The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference | 
 enlarge | List Price: $14.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (based on 933 reviews)
Sales Rank: 191
Category: Book
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Studio: Back Bay Books
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
Label: Back Bay Books
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0316346624
Dewey Decimal Number: 302
EAN: 9780316346627
ASIN: 0316346624
Publication Date: January 7, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate. This widely acclaimed bestseller, in which Malcolm Gladwell explores and brilliantly illuminates the tipping point phenomenon, is already changing the way people throughout the world think about selling products and disseminating ideas.
Amazon.com Review
"The best way to understand the dramatic transformation of unknown books into bestsellers, or the rise of teenage smoking, or the phenomena of word of mouth or any number of the other mysterious changes that mark everyday life," writes Malcolm Gladwell, "is to think of them as epidemics. Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do." Although anyone familiar with the theory of memetics will recognize this concept, Gladwell's The Tipping Point has quite a few interesting twists on the subject. For example, Paul Revere was able to galvanize the forces of resistance so effectively in part because he was what Gladwell calls a "Connector": he knew just about everybody, particularly the revolutionary leaders in each of the towns that he rode through. But Revere "wasn't just the man with the biggest Rolodex in colonial Boston," he was also a "Maven" who gathered extensive information about the British. He knew what was going on and he knew exactly whom to tell. The phenomenon continues to this day--think of how often you've received information in an e-mail message that had been forwarded at least half a dozen times before reaching you. Gladwell develops these and other concepts (such as the "stickiness" of ideas or the effect of population size on information dispersal) through simple, clear explanations and entertainingly illustrative anecdotes, such as comparing the pedagogical methods of Sesame Street and Blue's Clues, or explaining why it would be even easier to play Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon with the actor Rod Steiger. Although some readers may find the transitional passages between chapters hold their hands a little too tightly, and Gladwell's closing invocation of the possibilities of social engineering sketchy, even chilling, The Tipping Point is one of the most effective books on science for a general audience in ages. It seems inevitable that "tipping point," like "future shock" or "chaos theory," will soon become one of those ideas that everybody knows--or at least knows by name. --Ron Hogan
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| Customer Reviews: Read 928 more reviews...
Having been hugely happy with Blink! September 24, 2008
Having been hugely happy with Blink! I went out and purchased The Tipping Point almost right away. It, like most the other books I purchase, sat on a bookcase dedicated solely to books-yet-to-read until a few days ago. And now it shall be moved to its permanant home on a different bookcase. The point of all of this is that The Tipping Point is a well-researched, highly interesting, and unique book. The problem is that it, like Blink!, doesn't stick (see book for details). It's interesting but doesn't have the stickiness of most bestsellers, and is most certainly not something I would have watched the count down date for publishing like I'm doing with a few others. Good, but not great. Interesting, but not facinating. A 4, but not a 5.
 Must read book September 16, 2008
Macolm Gladwell's approach in this book is that of an observer. His deductions are thoroughly logical and offer a refreshing alternative to traditional thought. This book was a joy to read. I am also half way through his second book entitled Blink. As an author he has explained in both these books what other observers have innately noticed about human behavior and explained these ideas in a simple, natural manner.
 THANK YOU AMAZON, and mixed review September 16, 2008
I have to compliment Amazon on their awesome feature of look inside the book! I had bought this book about a year ago from [...] and for a few different reasons had not had the chance to read it until a year after i bought it. Well, I got to page 31 of my book and was rudely surprised to see that my book had a page ripped out!!! (who does that?!) Anyways, so thanks to amazon's online feature of look inside the book, I was able to go to the missing page and read the missing text. THANK YOU AMAZON!
As an Advertising and Marketing major, this book did carry some interesting perspectives on social trends and epidemics for brand popularity and other social phenomena. However, I do think that some of the examples, although relevant to certain aspects of society and world culture, were unnecessarily negative. If this theory can be applied universally to many different contexts, then a few more positive and uplifting examples could have been noted. Drugs, Suicide, and shootings should be balanced with a more uplifting tone.
Interesting stories, not that useful August 21, 2008
With 900 other reviews, I'll keep this one short. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell is an enormously interesting read. It tries to answer the question why and how certain ideas 'tip'. How they spread and become popular. Malcolm uses a huge amount of interesting stories from different domains to try to make his points. For me, the collection of stories was probably more interesting than the points he tried to make. The stories were well written.
Related to tipping, he argues that there are three rules related to an social epidemic. The law of the few (a few people can have a huge impact), the stickiness factor (a message can be constructed to be more sticky) and the power of context (the context can influence the message which is being spread enormously). The rest of the book contains chapters related to each of these rules. Every chapter summarizes the rules and tells stories of where the rule applied.
Tipping Point is extremely well written and easy to read. The bunch of amazing stories make it fun and it's no wonder that it's one a major best sellers in the world. I found the message the author tries to communicate less interesting, though. Never the less, I'd recommend the book to everyone for the sake of the stories and the learning that can be taken out of every individual story.
A year later and I'm still marveling over this book! August 20, 2008
I've heard Malcolm Gladwell speak, and he's superb! In this innovative book, whether he's referring to the Maven, or the Connector, it's relatable to all individuals. If you're looking for a light leadership book that brings up very INNOVATIVE topics, this is it! For additional tips on leadership, I'd also recommend taking a course at www.corporatetrendsetters.com.
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