“We think we can easily see into the hearts of others based on the flimsiest of clues. We jump at the chance to judge strangers. We would never do that to ourselves, of course. We are nuanced and complex and enigmatic. But the stranger is easy. If I can convince you of one thing in this book, let it be this: Strangers are not easy.”–Malcom Gladwell, Talking to Strangers
Malcolm Gladwell has done it again. He has taken our preconceived notions about a subject and turned them on its head. The topic this time is our interactions with people we don’t know and why they often go badly. From a traffic stop gone wrong to Neville Chamberlain’s view of Hitler, Gladwell theorizes that we are really bad at reading people and that the different backgrounds people come from influence their judgement of strangers. The stories and examples Gladwell shares indicate that things are often not as they seem and his view of them is controversial.
In true Gladwell style, this book provides much food for thought and will help you manage situations with new people better.
Content Advisory: Language, suicide, police brutality, descriptions of interrogation torture (water boarding)