Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Review & Giveaway: What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell



Recommended for: business & non-fiction readers

My rating: 3/5

My thoughts:

Malcolm Gladwell has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996 and What the Dog Saw is a collection of 19 articles that he considers his favorites. The book is broken down into 3 sections:
  • Obessives, Pioneers & Other Varieties of Minor Genius

  • Theories, Predictions & Diagnoses

  • Personality, Character & Intelligence (overall I found this was my favorite)

The articles I enjoyed the most were:


The Ketchup Conundrum - NOW I know why kids think ketchup goes with everything!


Cesar Millan & the Movements of Mastery - I am in awe at The Dog Whisperer, it was fun to read about his background & why what he does works!


The Picture Problem - This is a perfect example of what I love about Galdwell's writing: his ability to tie together things that aren't normally consider to be related at all. Here he uses mammography, air force raids & the Iraq war. Do we depend on pictures too much? The problem is that pictures require interpretation.


I have loved Malcolm Gladwell's previous works: Tipping Point, Blink & more recently Outliers. That being said, I have not read any of his The New Yorker pieces before. Sadly, I didn't get the same WOW factor after reading this book and in the end, there were a few that I just skimmed.


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Thanks to the generous people at Hachette Book Group, I have ONE copy to giveaway!

Contest end date: November 3rd, 2009

Contest rules:
  • you MUST BE A FOLLOWER to join. It's super easy, just click on the follow box on the right hand side if you don't follow already!

  • open to Canadian & US addresses only (no P.O. Boxes)

  • leave a comment letting me know if you've heard of Malcolm Gladwell (I'm just being nosey, this doesn't affect your chances of winning) with your email address as I will contact the winner by email. Should you win, you have 48 hrs to respond, otherwise I will pick another winner.

  • Additional entries:
    +1 for promoting the contest on your blog
    +1 for tweeting the giveaway(include me in the tweet: @hefollowedme)
    +1 for referring a friend (just get them to mention your name & blog)


    • Good luck everyone!!

    About Author Mel Boulrice
    Mel created the book blog He Followed Me Home...Can I Keep Him? to share her love of reading. She is a number cruncher by day and word nerd at night.

    Posted by Mel (He Followed Me Home) at 8:30 PM
    Labels: , ,

    13 comments:

    1. Michelle (Red Headed Book Child)October 21, 2009 at 9:55 AM

      Hey Mel,
      I am a follower and would love to be entered. I need to read that Ketchup article. My son is addicted!

      I have heard of him but have never read him. All of his books sell really well at the bookstore that I work at.

      I'm more curious now to read him.

      michwerm@gmail.com

      THanks!

      ReplyDelete
    2. Tales of WhimsyOctober 21, 2009 at 11:04 AM

      No need to enter me but the book sounds cool :)

      ReplyDelete
    3. B.KienappleOctober 21, 2009 at 12:18 PM

      I've read mixed reviews on this one but it's Malcolm Gladwell so I know I won't be able to resist.

      ReplyDelete
    4. Mel (He Followed Me Home)October 21, 2009 at 1:42 PM

      Michelle - yes I never knew how perfect ketchup is from a business/scientific perspective! Ketchup pretty much goes on everything for my boys too!

      Juju ~ Gladwell is always interesting

      B ~ I was disappointed BUT it could be all his fault for setting the bar so high with his other books ;) I would still buy it for my Gladwell collection in the library though:)

      ReplyDelete
    5. mrsshukraOctober 21, 2009 at 5:43 PM

      Saw this book last night at Borders and would like to read this book but never heard of Malcolm Gladwell!

      delilah0180(at)yahoo(dot)com

      ReplyDelete
    6. FlyFreeMyBooksOctober 21, 2009 at 5:57 PM

      I have heard of Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers, but have not read any of his books yet. Please enter me for this giveaway. I am a follower.
      ludeluh at yahoo dot com

      ReplyDelete
    7. FlyFreeMyBooksOctober 21, 2009 at 5:58 PM

      I posted this giveaway on my blog here:
      http://giveawayroundup.blogspot.com/2009/10/giveaways-from-wed-oct-21st.html

      ludeluh at yahoo dot com

      ReplyDelete
    8. Simply StacieOctober 21, 2009 at 9:22 PM

      Please count me in. I am a follower.

      I have read 2 of Malcolm Gladwell's books- Blink and Outliers.

      simplystacieblog at gmail dot com

      ReplyDelete
    9. Martha LawsonOctober 21, 2009 at 9:57 PM

      Believe it or not I've never heard of him!! Maybe I'll win and become a lover of his books!!!

      I'm a follower.

      mlawson17 at hotmail dot com

      ReplyDelete
    10. AnonymousOctober 22, 2009 at 10:53 AM

      My husband is always gone on and on about Gladwell. I'd love to win this for him.
      stacybooks at yahoo

      ReplyDelete
    11. JackieOctober 22, 2009 at 4:39 PM

      Malcolm Gladwell has some interesting takes on things. He's definitely worth reading, for sure! Outliers was good and I need to check out his other books now.

      ReplyDelete
    12. Jonnie (JB)October 23, 2009 at 12:31 AM

      I have never ead any of his stuff, but would love the chance
      dftrew(at)gmail(dot)com

      ReplyDelete
    13. Derek EmersonOctober 25, 2009 at 10:06 AM

      Big Gladwell fan and would love to win the book. But regardless am enjoying your blog. If you have time please visit mine at http://onebookoneweekoneyear.blogspot.com/

      ReplyDelete

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