3.75 stars

This book looks at various "epidemics" and what causes them. One little idea or product or something that becomes a fad or very popular - how does it happen, what causes it to become popular? Gladwell considers such things as a resurgence in the popularity of Hush Puppies, Sesame Street, crime decreasing significantly in New York City in the 90s, and more.

I am disappointed in that I ended up with an abridged audio. I didn't even realize it was abridged (though it did seem really short) until I got to the Afterword and he mentioned something that he'd supposedly mentioned in the book, that I didn't remember hearing. That's when I wondered... It's only looking back now, that I see I could have checked an unabridged audio out of the library instead. I just happened to select the wrong one. I've never listened to an abridged audio before, so I never even thought to check for it.

I really liked what I heard, though. Enough that I would "rewind" if I missed something (often, I just let it go). Malcolm Gladwell was reading it, and I thought he did a good job. I was going to give the book 4 stars, but I'm bumping it down to 3.75 because it was an abridgement. I don't quite understand what the point of abridging a book for audio is, anyway. If someone's going to read it aloud, why not read the entire book?