Book Review: The Tipping Point

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

Author: Malcolm Gladwell

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company, paperback, 301 pages, including Endnotes, Acknowledgments, and Index

Reviewed by Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson

The Author

At the time this volume was published, Malcolm Gladwell had been a reporter for the Washington Post from 1987 to 1996, working first as a science writer and then as a New York City bureau chief. After 1996, he became a staff writer for The New Yorker. The Tipping Point was his first book, which became an international bestseller, along with other bestsellers, including David And Goliath. He was born in England and grew up in rural Ontario. 

Contents

This volume contains an Introduction and the following chapters: One: The Three Rules of Epidemics; Two: The Law of the Few: Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen; Three: The Stickiness Factor: Sesame Street, Blues Clues, and the Educational Virus; Four: The Power of Context (Part One): Bernie Goetz and the Rise and Fall of New York City Crime; Five: The Power of Context (Part Two): The Magic Number One Hundred Fifty; Six: Case Study: Rumors, Sneakers, and the Power of Translation; Seven: Case Study: Suicide, Smoking, and the Search for the Unsticky Cigarette; Eight: Conclusion: Focus, Test, and Believe; Afterword: Tipping Point Lessons from the Real World. 

Brief Observations

The author makes the case for viewing ideas, products, messages, and behaviours with tipping points that spread like viruses. “All epidemics have Tipping Points.” (p. 12) Gladwell’s volume endeavours to answer the following two questions: “Why is it that some ideas or behaviours or products start epidemics and others don’t? And what can we do to deliberately start and control positive epidemics of our own?” (p. 14) In the sense that epidemics begin quite small, and multiply; so too, in David And Goliath, Gladwell makes the case with a similar motif for underdogs who are often underestimated, yet have the potential to grow into significant people, making impressive contributions.

A couple of interesting examples Gladwell provides are how Hush Puppies shoes became popular among young people and, as a “Connector,” Paul Revere’s famous historical ride with the word-of-mouth message that became epidemic. 

According to the author, there are three Tipping Point Rules that offer a way of making sense of epidemics. I’m not going to share them here, so hopefully readers of this review will read the book and find out. 

Readers will also find interesting the term “Maven,” which comes from the Yiddish, meaning “one who accumulates knowledge.” (p. 60) 

People regarded by Gladwell as “Salesmen” have the ability to persuade others who are highly sceptical. Read the book and discover which anchorperson was the most convincing: Peter Jennings at ABC, Tom Brokaw at NBC, or Dan Rather at CBS. 

The author includes a discussion on genetics and environment, and has this to say about what he refers to as “the Power of Context”: “The essence of the Power of Context is that in ways that we don’t necessarily appreciate, our inner states are the result of our outer circumstances.” (p. 152)

In his emphasis on the significance of the number 150, Gladwell cites the example of a Hutterite named Bill Gross, who said it is best to keep the number of people in a colony under 150: “If you get too large, you don’t have enough work in common. You don’t have enough things in common, and then you start to become strangers and that close-knit fellowship starts to get lost.” (p. 181)

For Gladwell: “In the end, Tipping Points are a reaffirmation of the potential for change and the power of intelligent action.” (p. 159)

Those interested in social, psychological, religious, political and economic change will likely appreciate this volume, as will experts in communication.