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Malcolm Gladwell's book recommendations
Across 8 podcasts. Every show Malcolm Gladwell appears on, in one place — not just one.
Malcolm Gladwell’s most recommended books
- Range by David J. Epstein
- Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
- The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré
- Fleetwood My Life and Adventures by Mick Fleetwood
- A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
- Contempt and pity by Daryl Michael Scott
- The Little Drummer Girl by John Le Carré
- The Sports Gene by David Epstein
Malcolm Timothy Gladwell is a British-Canadian journalist, author, and public speaker. He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996, has published eight books, and serves as the host of the podcast Revisionist History and co-founder of the podcast company Pushkin Industries. During his podcast appearances, Gladwell recommended and discussed a few notable books. He mentioned reading Mick Fleetwood's autobiography, Fleetwood: My Life and Adventures, describing it as one of the great autobiographies of all time while recounting an encounter with Stevie Nicks. Gladwell also recommended his friend David Epstein's book Range during a conversation about early specialization versus trying multiple sports. Additionally, Gladwell discussed his own book Outliers, defending chapter three and the concept of the 10,000-hour rule as a rough proxy for the preparation needed to succeed, and he clarified the book's title during a discussion about Pistol Pete Maravich. He also touched upon Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind in relation to an episode of his podcast.
Books recommended by Malcolm Gladwell
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Outliers
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell is an examination of the external factors, cultural legacies, and massive amounts of practice that contribute to extraordinary success.
Discussed“That's not the name of the book. No that was Outliers my book got Outliers. I always remind somebody to kind of that would probably be that.”
Where to get it
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Talking to Strangers
Talking to Strangers is a nonfiction book by Malcolm Gladwell that explores how people misjudge interactions with unfamiliar individuals.
Discussed“but also a big argument of talking to strangers is that in the end what we perceive is a failing our inability to read other people”
Where to get it
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Range
Range by David J.
Discussed“so there's a really lovely book that was written by a friend of mine david epstein um and uh it was uh it's called range”
Where to get it
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Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell is an epic historical novel set against the American Civil War and Reconstruction eras, chronicling the tumultuous life and resilience of its protagonist, Scarlett O'Hara.
Discussed“yes margaret who wrote gone gone with the wind was killed by a drunk driver”
Where to get it
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The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré is a renowned espionage novel that explores the gritty, bleak, and morally ambiguous realities of Cold War intelligence work.
Discussed“oh wow uh so many right well the very small town in Germany uh the pre um uh spy came in from the cold ones I really like and I also really like um”
Where to get it
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Fleetwood My Life and Adventures
Fleetwood My Life and Adventures by Mick Fleetwood is a candid autobiographical account written by the legendary co-founder and drummer of the renowned rock band Fleetwood Mac.
Recommended“I had just read Mick fleetwood's autobiography which is one of the great autobiographies of all time”
Where to get it
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A Brief History of Time
Stephen Hawking's landmark popular science book has served as an iconic introduction to cosmology and black holes for millions of readers worldwide.
Discussed“it's like the the remember when Stephen Hawking's a short history of time was a bestseller and there was a kind of an open joke about whether anyone who was buying it was reading it”
Where to get it
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Contempt and pity
Discussed“I was just both read the Great Book on this is darl Scott's uh contempt and pity um who's a he's a a very good black historian at Howard”
Where to get it
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The Bomber Mafia
The Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell is a work of narrative nonfiction examining the strategic bombing campaigns of World War II and the eccentric technologists who championed them.
Discussed“and um again it's just a yeah that's part of that's sort of the backdrop for the story i was trying to tell in bomber mafia”
Where to get it
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The Little Drummer Girl
The Little Drummer Girl by John le Carré is a sophisticated espionage novel that delves deeply into the intricate moral complexities and political tensions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Discussed“I thought I've Al a little drummer girl is um really fantastic”
Where to get it
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The Sports Gene
The Sports Gene by David Epstein is an investigative science book that explores the complex interplay between innate genetic predisposition and rigorous environmental training in shaping elite athletic performance.
Discussed“this is my friend David Epstein who wrote Sports Gene is really really interesting on this subject with it with respect to sports”
Where to get it
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The Tipping Point
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell is a famous exploration of how little things can make a big difference in sparking social epidemics, trends, and behavioral changes.
Discussed“I want to do um my first book Tipping Point is we're coming up on his 25th anniversary and I'm going to do a 25th anniversary uh revised Edition”
Where to get it
Books by Malcolm Gladwell
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Blink
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Outliers
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The Tipping Point
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David and Goliath
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What the dog saw and other adventure stories
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Talking to Strangers
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The Bomber Mafia
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Revenge of the Tipping Point
Questions about Malcolm Gladwell’s book recommendations
What book does Malcolm Gladwell recommend most?
Range by David J. Epstein. Malcolm Gladwell recommended it in 1 episode.
How many books has Malcolm Gladwell recommended on podcasts?
We have found 12 books Malcolm Gladwell recommended or discussed, across 9 episodes of 8 podcasts. Ad reads and passing mentions are not counted.
What books are on Malcolm Gladwell's reading list?
The books Malcolm Gladwell has recommended most on podcasts are Range by David J. Epstein, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré, Fleetwood My Life and Adventures by Mick Fleetwood and A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. The full book list below has all 12.
What books has Malcolm Gladwell written?
The Tipping Point (2000), Blink (2004), Outliers (2008), What the dog saw and other adventure stories (2009), David and Goliath (2013), Talking to Strangers (2019), The Bomber Mafia (2021) and Revenge of the Tipping Point (2024).
What did Malcolm Gladwell recommend on Conversations with Tyler?
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Contempt and pity and The Little Drummer Girl, among 4 books in all.
What is the latest book Malcolm Gladwell recommended?
Fleetwood My Life and Adventures, recommended on This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von (2023-05-30).
People who recommend the same books
Appearances
Other mentions (13: passing, ad reads, own books)
“I mean we're talking about two books written 25 years apart. My first book The Tipping Point, my last book Revenge of the Tipping Point.”
“I mean we're talking about two books written 25 years apart. My first book The Tipping Point, my last book Revenge of the Tipping Point.”
“Listen, I I think the latest podcast I did on my podcast Revisionist History, we have a series called The Alabama Murders. It is the best thing I've ever done and I would wholeheartedly recommend that to people. And I have a new book out in paperback, Revenge of the of the Tipping Point.”
“I'm over here because I have this um book now in paperback the bomber Mafia and it's a story of these uh group of men pilots in the 1930s in America who have a dream about a better way to fight Wars”
“i mean this is a big theme in my book talking to strangers yeah a whole chapter on alcohol and how a lot of what we talk about is that you know when we talk about a section the culture of the problem of sexual assault”
“this year, we have an episode that's all about the woman, Margaret Mitchell, who wrote "Gone with the Wind," was killed in a drunk driving crash.”
“I remember years ago I wrote my second book blink and I have in that book a chapter about a very famous infamous police shooting in New York case of amadou diallo I remember that remember that was shot like 40 times by cops”
“well because you know I've written books that begin in a sense of with a sense of wonder or curiosity or aw hell ours is a book about you know I'm in awe of the success of certain people I want to make sense of it”
“This is a total like this should have been in a chapter of my last book David and Goliath because this is exactly a disadvantage that turns into an advantage”
“this is a total like this should have been in a chapter of my last book David and Goliath because this is exactly a disadvantage that turns into an advantage”
“I was still adding to this manuscript of talking to strangers really really late and uh if you'd compare my first drafts is might like I did five drafts with my fifth draft huge differences”
“the other parallel problem which I get at in David and Goliath is I think that um overly competitive environments uh at too early an age are really deep deeply problematic”
“My name is Malcolm Gladwell. I'm a writer for The New Yorker magazine and the author of a number of books, including Outliers, where I talk about, among other things, the work of Andrews Erickson.”