Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but not profound
Review: This book is worth reading. The ideas are fascinating and the writing fun. It's a good place to start thinking about some potentially powerful concepts. But in the end, nothing new here that has not appeared in basic texts on sociology, communication, and education.
Rating: 
Summary: Accurate, if a little precious
Review: Malcolm Gladwell, a respected science writer, takes on the task of updating us on how chaotic systems (informal communication, crime, epidemics, and so on) affect our everyday lives. He cites numerous examples to show that even a slight change in initial conditions can mean the difference between a bull and a bear market, or between a rumor's being spread or not.All this is convincing, as far as it goes. However, Gladwell does not seem to give his readers much credit, believing that we will lose interest unless he gives the different roles in the transmission of information cute names like "Mavens" and "Connectors". He occasionally glosses over complicated points when more detail would have been appreciated.
Rating: 
Summary: Bought 8 Copies for All of my Clued Friends!
Review: I saw a review in the Industry Standard. Read it. Got to SFO for a Job Interview with...and it was their personal Bible! Well, I grabbed it, read it, and then bought another 8 copies and handed them out to all of my friends. This is a $25 book retail and I am not a DotCom millionaire, but sometimes you really find something special. Well, its a grand book. The author does not like his ideas to be considered Memetic, but we...think his book is the Bee's Knees. Buy 9 copies and give eight to your friends. All the cool kids are doing it.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for high-tech marketers and public-policy types
Review: This is one of the more important books written in a long time --the term "tipping point" is now part of our American vernacular and defines a critical type of phenomenon --- an important read for high-tech marketers, but equally important in understanding the success of other "epidemics" like shutting down crime in NYC or the beginnings of the American Revolution. I enthusiastically recommend this book -- it's not a difficult read.
Rating:
Summary: More interesting than enlightening
Review: There is a wealth of readable stories, as you might expect from a journalist, but the story-telling so dominates the theory (which is supposed to change the way we think) that even the Conclusions chapter starts with yet another story. Is the book (as suggested on the inside cover) 'destined to change social paradigms and overturn conventional thinking'? Not if the Jerry Springer show gets there first. It's readable but not life-changing. If you hope that the book will help you to change the world you will find absolutely no examples of Gladwell's theories being tried by anyone, even himself. It is all retrospective analysis. And it doesn't, really, deserve to 'tip'.
Rating:
Summary: Weak on analysis but an entertaining read
Review: Gladwell makes some interesting points in this book and explores several real world examples that tie into the general theme about the spread of epidemics through our society. But there is nothing revolutionary about the ideas in this book (other than Paul Revere) and it seems Gladwell really pushes to brand new buzzwords on old concepts. However he does a good job of getting you to think about how things become popular that you may just have ignored in the past. The best thing about this book are the stories he weaves into these concepts such as Roger Horchow, Blue's Clues vs Sesame Street, Gore-Tex, etc. Obviously this book is directed towards a marketing audience. It is extremely light on examining in background detail on the studies he quotes or providing any sort of numerical analysis behind them. For instance his reference to collective memory studies makes no mention that it may be easier for couples to relate and solve problems compared to two individuals who have no history together and therefore would skew the data. Nor that the sample size for the study was incredibly small. I do believe there is something to transactive memory since for certain things that I don't need to know on a regular basis I associate people with certain groups of facts instead of spending time memorizing them myself. Further some of the stories are slightly dubious. For instance Gladwell states that not until 1993 did Airwalk market beyond California when they pushed Foot Locker to carry the shoes. However I remember Airwalk being quite popular during the late eighties in rural western North Carolina where I grew up. In the end I still found this book entertaining and walked away thinking about how things become popular in a different way. I would even rate this book higher if Gladwell would abridge this and cut out many of the repetitive or loosely tied stories in this book. Many of the points are obvious after the first tie-in and don't need an additional 20 or 30 pages of stories to drill it home.
Rating:
Summary: A thought provoking, interesting and potentially useful book
Review: This relatively short book is a very pleasant surprise. Usually I am quite skeptical of new theories and concepts that attempt to explain human behavior, since the thinking, embedded in pompous language, often proves shallow and the primary goal seems simply to grab attention and book sales. Instead I found Gladwell's book well written, fast paced, interesting and thought provoking. Subject to translating its ideas successfully into practical actions, I believe it is potentially very useful in social sciences and business. Gladwell's use of examples from very different fields adds to the interest in and credibility of the factors that contribute to a sudden "epidemic" - good or bad - of a behavior, an idea, a product or a belief. I am particularly intrigued by his concept that the true underlying causes and explanations for what we perceive as extremely complex social issues, for example, can be "tipped" with simple, direct actions in the right place at the right time. All too often governments and companies try to solve their big problems with excessively expensive, but ineffective programs or projects. I agree with him that attempted solutions frequently fail to address basic motivational factors and that the best solutions are often counterintuitive. For those of us in business, I think the concepts in this book, properly applied, could make us more effective. Gladwell's business examples, his linkage to Geoffrey Moore's "Crossing the Chasm" and his brief discussion of the "magic 150" make the book worth reading. Far from being a "how to" handbook, considerable thought will be required to apply it practically, which I believe will be a good learning experience. As I read the book I realized that many analogs of this concept exist in the physical world. There are many examples from stereo amplifiers to martial arts in which relatively small forces or energy inputs at the right place and time cause large differences in outcomes. Why five stars? The book gave me a new perspective for thinking how and why things happen in society and business. It presents interesting observations and information about trends that affect us. I think it will be useful in my business. It is well written. And, it is unpretentiously short.
Rating:
Summary: Compact, fascinating look at the currents of societal change
Review: Interesting anecdotal stories, theories, and conjecture blend in a discussion of how trends spread and grow. Fascinating to see Paul Revere cast in a whole new light and why his "call to arms" succeeded where others failed. Insightful assertions about Hush Puppies, adoption of smoking, teen suicide, and how these change - curiously, I found his discussions about how to "enforce change" almost at odds with the initial thesis. All in all, an excellent book for making you think and recognize cultural patterns... but if you were hoping for a road map to structuring your own tipping points, you'll have to write it yourself. (Which, I suspect, is the point.) This book won't change the world, but it may give you guidance on the path to do so. Recommended to anyone who wants to know how or why trends arise and spread.
Rating:
Summary: How can he ignore the Net?
Review: The Tipping Point puts forth some interesting ideas, such as why Paul Revere succeeded on his famous ride while a counterpart who made a similar ride failed to mobilize many people. But he can be phenomenally sanctimonious, as when he describes people who transmit a sexual disease: "Who were those 168 people? They aren't like you or me. They are people who go out every night, people who have vastly more sexual partners than the norm, people whose lives and behaviors are well outside of the ordinary." In other parts of the book, he makes sense, such as when he notes that we can't stop teens from experimenting with smoking; instead we should try to keep them from getting hooked, which typically takes several years. But then he states the obvious when he notes that anti-smoking programs don't stop teens from smoking because teens are rebellious and tend to do the opposite of what you advise them to do. The biggest fault, however, is that he virtually ignores the Net and how it can have a huge affect in tipping. I get the sense the essence of this book was created sometime ago, when Gladwell first wrote about "tipping points" for the New Yorker. Instead of updating his thesis to consider the Net age, it seems as though Gladwell merely expanded the article without evaluating how much the Net has changed things during the past five years.
Rating:
Summary: New Yorker Brilliance
Review: The two best business books so far this year coincidentally originated in The New Yorker - "The Trillionaire Next Door" and "The Tipping Point." This is an engrossing book for anyone interested in how and why hits happen.
| 
