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?

In perhaps his most famous tome, Gladwell examines the question of why some events or subjects tip to the stratosphere while most things flail around at ground level.

As someone whose job it is to make things resonate with people I don't even know, this book was pretty revealing of the seemingly minor subtleties involved in tipping and how the entire success of a project can rest on the people (mavens, salespeople) who push your message more than on the message itself.

And having been an editorialist in a past life (and an opinionated %&% presently), I can very much appreciate how a carefully chosen word or image can make all the difference in whether a message sticks with the intended audience.

By the same token, The Tipping Point also highlights how Sisyphian (Sisyphusian?) advertising and communications can be. With some messages, I'm afraid, you can push all day and get nowhere. If it doesn't resonate, it doesn't matter.

Now if I could only figure out how to explain that to my clients."

The Tipping Point is a permanent fixture in my personal library. Not only is this book one of the best trade hardbacks I've ever read, but it's also a book that I continue to look to it in order to make meaningful changes in my professional life.

As an author and independent publisher who aspires to turn my "little book" educational series into a global brand, I recently reread the Tipping Point in the hopes of gleaning from it clues on how I could create a tipping point in my own publishing business. First, I sought to better understand the people around me: who exactly are those mavens, salespersons, and connectors? Second, I started tinkering with the way information was worded on promotional materials. The goal was to make the message more "sticky." I started by focusing on one of my education books titled The Little Blue Reasoning Book: 50 Powerful Principles for Clear and Effective Thinking. This book is one in a four-part series and sister to The Little Red Writing Book, The Little Gold Grammar Book, and The Little Green Math Book.

Upon publication, I noticed that initial sales of The Little Blue Reasoning Book were lagging behind the sales of my other three books. I found this somewhat surprising as I had expected the "blue book" to vie with The Little Red Writing Book for first place in the series. Although I recognize that reasoning skills do not address as clear a niche market as do writing, grammar, and math skills, I also believe that a book on reasoning skills represents a more unique educational offering. Reasoning skills are, after all, one of the most important yet seldom taught skills.

My original flap copy on the backside of the book contained standard descriptive sentences such as: "Reasoning skills help us make sense of the world, including how to make decisions, tackle opportunities, evaluate claims, and solve problems."

For promotional purposes, I tinkered with the stickiness and came up with: "This book is based on a simple but powerful observation: Individuals who develop outstanding reasoning and thinking skills do so primarily by mastering a limited number of the most important reasoning principles and concepts, which they use over and over again. What are these recurring principles and concepts? The answer to this question is the basis of this book."

The Tipping Point is based on three rules: the law of the few (mavens, salespersons, and connectors), content (stickiness), and context (environment and circumstances). As I started to think of ways to marry the concepts of stickiness and context, I came up with the following verbiage: "Never has there been a time when one idea can make a bigger difference. In the case of thinking and reasoning skills, one idea or concept - creative or analytical - can greatly influence the outcome of a personal or business decision. The more we fulfill our own potentials, the better we can contribute to the world of commerce and to our communities."

The principles advocated by the Tipping Point continue to be an integral part of my book marketing efforts. The bet is that little, incremental things do make a big difference.

Brandon Royal, award-winning educational author, brandonroyal.com

Absolutely fascinating. The book was well thought out and researched. It uses real life examples like Why hush puppies became fashionable; poularity of sesame street and the rise and fall of airwalker....to make its point. My husband and I throughly enjoyed the book and highly recommend it.