Episode · How I Write · 2026-11-04
David Perell & Malcolm Gladwell: books mentioned on How I Write
Malcolm Gladwell: The Most Useful Hour You'll Ever Spend on Storytelling | How I Write
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Malcolm Gladwell discussed The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth, The American Way of Killing by Malcolm Gladwell, and Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell, and criticized The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. David Perell discussed Blink by Malcolm Gladwell.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Day of the Jackal
The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth is a classic thriller that meticulously details the intricate planning and execution of an assassination plot against French President Charles de Gaulle.
Discussed“Although you could argue that genre wise, Day of the Jackal is the most important book of genre because Day of the Jackal is really a kind of how-to book.”
Where to get it
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Blink
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell is a psychology book examining how the human subconscious makes rapid snap judgments and how intuition relies on instinct and experience.
Discussed“Yeah, I caught this example from Blink and I was thinking what is this? I feel like you're setting the premise.”
Where to get it
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The American Way of Killing
Discussed“In the audio book for American Way of Killing, I have a friend, uh, Drew Hulcom, who's a singer in Nashville. Really, really, really, really interesting guy.”
Where to get it
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Talking to Strangers
Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell is a work of popular psychology that explores why people so often misread and misunderstand those they do not know.
Discussed“In some of my books, I've sold more audio books than print books. I think of talking to strangers as an audio book.”
Where to get it
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The Tipping Point
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell is a popular sociology book that examines the subtle social factors and catalysts that cause ideas, products, and behaviors to spread like epidemics.
Critiqued“And I did that in with tipping point. I fell in love with broken windows. I mean, how many times have I regretted that? It's just dumb.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (3) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“You know him from books like Outliers, The Tipping Point, David and Goliath, his essays and the New Yorker.”
“You know him from books like Outliers, The Tipping Point, David and Goliath, his essays and the New Yorker.”
“You know him from books like Outliers, The Tipping Point, David and Goliath, his essays and the New Yorker.”