Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know by Malcolm Gladwell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I have always enjoyed Malcolm Gladwell’s books and found them interesting, but Talking to Strangers ranks highest as the most timely read. Gladwell may as well have written it last week because he addresses the issues that, sparked by the killing of George Floyd, are causing upheaval in our country right now. The book opens with a riveting account of the Sandra Bland police brutality incident, which had me hooked. However, Gladwell moves away from the relative present to discuss Cuban spies in the 80s and Chamberlain’s encounter with Hitler just before World War II. True to form, Gladwell makes connections between seemingly unrelated topics that synthesize ideas in support of his thesis. He examines a wide range of headliner case studies that, at a glance, have little connection—until you follow Gladwell’s deep dive analysis. I was giving this book four stars because, while I found the studies fascinating, I didn’t see how they related to one another. Then, as I got near the end, it all started coming together. Talking to Strangers is a quick, but deeply insightful read that’s given me a new perspective in making sense of factors contributing to why and how our society has gotten so unraveled.
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