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

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
The Tipping Point How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
ISBN-13: 9780316346627
ISBN-10: 0316346624
Publication Date: 1/7/2002
Pages: 304
Rating:
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 741
3.8 stars, based on 741 ratings
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

68 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

 GrannyGamer avatar reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 153 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 30
The first half of the book is very good, but gets bogged down quickly. I found the information on many of the pychological experiments fascinating, although I didn't always see the relevance to his premise. The biggest problem for me was that, as he did in his book "Blink," he makes his point ... then belabors it. I'd rather there have been less details on more examples rather than such extreme details on a few. His chapter on Sesame Street and Blues Clues, for example, went on far too long.

Still, an interesting read...
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on
Helpful Score: 19
Just a bit too long. Would have been a great 1000 word essay. no need to keep repeating himself for 290 pages.
jjt001 avatar reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 27 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 12
Excellent book. I really enjoyed the author's writing, and his research and analysis was fascinating. If you want to understand things about society, whether you're doing it for business or just for knowledge, this is a great book.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 20 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 8
Very quick read, very fascinating concepts and ideas about the way trends are created. Whether you're interested in marketing or just want a clever, thought-provoking read, this is a good one!
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 6 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7
This book can revise how you see and organize anything from the way you advertise, to how you fundraise, or organize your at a grassroots level
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 10 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7
This was a very interesting read. Very well written and easy to follow the ideas of Gladwell throughout the book.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 68 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7
Gladwell does an excellent job of identifying a tipping point and then using examples that people may readily relate to. I found the book fascinating. I would hope that people would apply this to all aspects of life so that they can reach their own potential and encourage such in others.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
I find ideas from this book popping up throughout my everyday life. This book changed the way I think about making things happen--not just in business but in life. An excellent read!
buzzby avatar reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 6062 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
If you liked "Freakonomics", you'll like this, it jumps around a lot.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 23 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
This book took a while for me to get through; some of the research parts were a little dry. But overall, a great book.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 75 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
a very interesting, eclectic set of essays on mass movements and epidemics in all areas of life.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 10 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
Full of useless but interesting information.
nascargal avatar reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 352 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
This is a fairly interesting book. I found some parts of it to be slow reading, but other parts were truly fascinating.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 12 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
This is a terrific book--Gladwell examines various trends, or "epidemics," from Airwalk & Hush Puppies shoes to diminished crime rates in NYC, then uses the information to explain how each of us might take tiny actions that can make big differences.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on
Helpful Score: 3
Interesting conecpts and engaging book
mcpenguin5 avatar reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 93 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Wonderful insights in the way small things make such a huge difference in society. Engrossing.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on
Helpful Score: 3
Fascinating reading about trends and fads and what makes them tick
csa avatar reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 45 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Malcolm Gladwell illuminates theories about fads and how information spreads, including how ads work, why certain fashions come in and out of popularity and the importance of human "connectors".
auntietilly2 avatar reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 35 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
couldn't get into it....I have been reading too many current affairs.
c-squared avatar reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 181 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Fascinating! I really enjoyed the author's historical examples, too.
nancy2008 avatar reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 19 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
The book was good and I liked his ideas but I thought he went on and on too long with each point. For me it bogged down.
happyreedr avatar reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 19 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Uneventful. I was already aware of reaching "Critical Mass" and the "100th Monkey Theory" the author shares his own ideas about what he thinks and provides new term words. I hardly remember what it was he had to say. Couldn't wait to swap it again and get my 2 credits back.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 30 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
No big surprise in this book. The information tends to repeat itself throughout the chapters.
Firefly avatar reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 57 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
After trying to come up with my own review, I read this one by Naiche A. ) from FREDERICK, MD wrote on 12/28/2007. She says exactly what I was thinking, but she says it much better than I did. :-)


"While provocative, I found the book to be poorly researched and the arguements unconvincing. Gladwell comes up with some examples of features of some things which are wildly popular, but completely fails to show that these features are either missing from unpopular things or common to all popular things. Spends the entire book explaining the three characteristics that he thinks cause a popularity tipping point, but then doesn't show why they cause it or why they fail in things which don't become popular. Pretty much, he's just saying: I found this attribute in a few popular things, so this attribute must be what makes them popular. The examples are fun, but the logic is terrible. Don't expect to learn anything that will help you."
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 4 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Fascinating read. I couldn't get enough. Loved this book.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Fascinating examples of how little things become bigger things.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 191 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This writer works for the New Yorker and previously was a business and science writer for the Washington Post. This book is inspiring and enthusiastic in its look at why major changes in our society so often happen suddenly and unexpectedly. Ideas, behavior, messages and products often spread like outbreaks of infectious disease.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This is such an interesting model of social change. It really helped me understand my style as well as that of my co-workers and friends.
Naiche avatar reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 91 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
While provocative, I found the book to be poorly researched and the arguements unconvincing. Gladwell comes up with some examples of features of some things which are wildly popular, but completely fails to show that these features are either missing from unpopular things or common to all popular things. Spends the entire book explaining the three characteristics that he thinks cause a popularity tipping point, but then doesn't show why they cause it or why they fail in things which don't become popular. Pretty much, he's just saying: I found this attribute in a few popular things, so this attribute must be what makes them popular. The examples are fun, but the logic is terrible. Don't expect to learn anything that will help you.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book makes you think about how you affect your family, friends, strangers and surroundings. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
garythefowler avatar reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 65 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I read this a few years ago. Such a great, simple truth, easily overlooked. Gladwell writes very comfortably, almost conversationally, tossing in stories in a casual way that turns out to be right on the point. Again and again, I found myself thinking, "Huh... I didn't know I knew that!" or "So that's why...!"
If you're looking for hard data, tersely delivered, you might be impatient with Gladwell's style; but if you can slow it down a bit for a casual journey, you will find at the end that the whole "tipping point" concept will be a useful and insightful way of understanding that has become part of your perceptions and perspective.
glbirch avatar reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 205 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I have really enjoyed this. I can't remember what (or who) prompted me to read this (not exactly my genre?) but it is truly entertaining and thought-provoking. I'm driving my husband nuts with my "Listen to what I just read in this book..." It has everything from history (Paul Revere's midnight ride) to marketing (skater shoes) to kid's TV (Sesame Street and Blue's Clues) and it is just fascinating.

Easy to read in a few days...Enjoy!
FoundItOnAnAirplane avatar reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 30 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Interesting concepts and what I read is dead on.
Amberlani avatar reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 56 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Very interesting book. I wouldn've never known about it on my own. I'm glad I had the opportunity to read it.
ebaycoach avatar reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 17 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book is right up there with the business classic, "Who Moved My Cheese." The most helpful concept explained in this book is that of "connectors." We all know them and Gladwell explains how to leverage the power and connections of these people to help launch or expand a business.

If you are pursuing income streams on the internet, this book will help you understand how important other people are in growing a business. You cannot do it alone. You cannot rely on advertising. You must rely on people.

The book also explains how trends have taken off due to one small factor - such as a celebrity endorsement, a change in consumer preferences, or some other factor. Many success stories are about luck and timing - and of course, hard work and who you know.

A quick, well written, easy read.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on
Helpful Score: 1
Interesting ideas to think about and very well written.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 13 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
As with every other gladwell book, it is a nice idea that is summed up in the first couple of chapters and then reiterated until one is sick of it. Basically one gets sick of it because the examples and studies are poorly thought out and detailed leaving behind more questions than answers. And one is left with a big so what at the end of the book.

Read the summary on amazon and dont waste your money.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 40 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
some amazing ideas about behavior -- an interesting idea about connectors, mavens &
salepeople -- & creates a new way of looking at those we encounter in our everydays
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on
Helpful Score: 1
Really enjoyed some chapters and found them quite interesting. Others were a little slower and boring. Overall, a pretty solid book though and a quick read.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 13 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
How an idea, trend, or social behavior spreads like wildfire. Explores the tipping point phenomenon. Shows how people throughout the world think about selling products and disseminating ideas. Not just a marketing manual!
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 60 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Wow! Very insightful. Worth reading every page.
Gamecock-RN avatar reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 64 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Easy to read, interesting social dynamics.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 25 more book reviews
There is some interesting information and ahha moments but there was a lot of repeating of information. Not horrible but not great.
tiffanyak avatar reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 215 more book reviews
This book does drag a bit at times, but I still thought it was very interesting. I actually really enjoyed reading about the real-life studies and situations that were used to demonstrate the ways in which a very small change can have a huge effect, even making the difference between a major success and epic failure. When you read and learn what a profound difference a fairly small number of people or a relatively small act (such as cleaning up graffiti in the subway system, or arresting fare-beaters) can have on a large scale, it really does make you view situations differently. Suddenly the reasoning behind a lot of things makes more sense, even if it logically seems strange. While I wouldn't list it as one of my favorite books, it was very interesting and well worth reading.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 8 more book reviews
Good book, enjoyed the examples by the author, I'm a business owner and the book gave me some prospective of how to market my business, using mavens, connectors and salesmen that are the ones that can create word of mouth trends.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 2 more book reviews
Malcolm Gladwell has a gift for making you think about the world around you in a completely different manner. This book leads you to contemplate why things happen the way they do, a new twist on cause and effect. I have several of his audio books and keep them in my car to listen while I drive. He's not only a great author, but an excellent narrator as well.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 18 more book reviews
One of my all-time favorites in non-fiction, The Tipping Point keeps you riveted. Malcolm Gladwell's writing style is easy to read and infinitely informative. Although much of the idea behind The Tipping Point can be about marketing products, it is so much more than that. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to make a change in our world. Gladwell clearly explains trends we never heard about from mainstream media. He studies human behavior carefully and gives some unique observations. Once you've read this, you'll want to read all of his work!
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 31 more book reviews
Lots of things you already knew and lots of new information
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 94 more book reviews
Good common sense advice on business.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 177 more book reviews
Not many "aha" moments in this one, and I found myself saying "duh" out loud several times, but it was an interesting look at how trends get started. Included are definitions of the concepts of connectors (people that know a lot of other people), mavens (people who know a lot about particular stuff), and stickiness (how well a concept is remembered and/or internalized). However, Gladwell strays from his point a bit with an extensive look at children's television, which--while interesting--is not directly applicable to adults' habits. I'd recommend this book if you're into the genre. Otherwise, try "Predictably Irrational" for a more eye-opening account of consumer behavior.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 6 more book reviews
I enjoy the statistical information from this and Malcom Gladwell's other book Blink. Neither one changed my life but the factoids have stuck with me. Interesting read and very quick.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 11 more book reviews
WOW! Best book I've read in a while. Very interesting topic, and Gladwell has done a great job discussing and explaining. LOVE IT!
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 6 more book reviews
"looks at why major changes in our society so often happen suddenly and unexpectedly. Ideas, behavior, messages, and products, he argues, often spread like outbreaks of infectious disease."... from the book jacket
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 58 more book reviews
This book was interesting and gave me some new ways of seeing how things change in society. However, I felt the book was a bit long, especially towards the end where it just kept repeating the same information already discussed in previous chapters. I found the last few chapters slow reading and had to force myself to finish the book.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 116 more book reviews
I am sure that this is an interesting book to many people, but I am just not one of them. I couldn't see myself reading this entire book.
2pups avatar reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on
I listened to this first as an audiobook but decided I wanted to use some of the material in my Sociology class so I 'swapped' for a hard copy to keep on hand.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 117 more book reviews
I love Malcolm Gladwell.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 18 more book reviews
I enjoy Mr. Gladwell's way of thinking about things in general, so anything he would write would interest me. I had read "Blink" before this enjoyed that as well. His combination of psychology and sociology, with his way of questioning things makes for a very interesting and thought provoking read. I highly recommend it .
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on
Fascinating . . . a great read!
Foucault avatar reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 27 more book reviews
A fascinating, thought-provoking book.
kickerdad avatar reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 123 more book reviews
"The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell provides wonderful perspective on 'how little things can make a big difference'. Most of us are familiar with the cultural business axioms of our day - 'swallow the big frog', 'first things first', 'low hanging fruit' but what is the biggest frog, which fruit it the lowest?, or what should be the first thing? Sometimes the answer isn't the obvious one.

I thoroughly enjoyed "The Tipping Point". Learning of the distinct types of people that can effect change, I got excited because I could identify people who fit these categories.. We are aware that being in the right place at the right time can change your life and the lives around you, but is there more to it than that? Every catch yourself wondering why a song is popular, or how Cabbage Patch dolls became such a hit, or why ship-lap has become so popular for interior design? While many people would like to be change agents, there are those who influencing change is an innate part of who they are, not something they do. With a historical lens of Paul Revere to Paul McCartney, Malcolm Gladwell illustrates who these people are.

From conversations with Big Bird to the development of Blue's Clues; from fighting crime by cleaning the subway; from defining unlimited production growth in terms of a defined limit, The Tipping Point illustrates how change can be impacted with real examples out of recent events. As the book is dated 2002, it would be interesting to see what Malcolm Gladwell's perspective would be on our post-9/11 world.

Easy to read. Thoughtfully written, addressing sometimes complex subjects in a straightforward fashion while not insulting your intelligence. Educational and entertaining. Wonderful book [5/5]
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 202 more book reviews
Very interesting book.
kellyebojo avatar reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 15 more book reviews
Compellingly written with implications for almost every industry and social trend. An easy and interesting read.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on
Extremely interesting concept
tracey13 avatar reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 310 more book reviews
Audio CD version of the best selling book.
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 89 more book reviews
How little things can make a big difference...very interesting!
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 15 more book reviews
How little things can make a big difference
reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on + 1775 more book reviews
I had only a few minutes with the book while on the bus, taking it to the shelf at the old soldiers' home but did note that the last four pages of text explains well Mr. Gladwell's point.
I hope to read more. No one took up the book after several weeks so I am taking it to the VA Hospital lobby where there are many readers and will read a couple of chapters myself.
Index.

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