The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

Or "Better Than Freakonomics."

There were some interesting parallels between Freakonomics and The Tipping Point, having read them in a kind of accidental sequence. Specifically, they addressed some of the exact same phenomena (i.e. the sudden drop in crime rates in New York City in the mid 1990s), but in a more general sense both books are nestled happily in the world of anecdotal science. Both should be taken with a block of salt, but at the end of the day I loathed almost every moment of Freakonomics and had one hell of a good time reading The Tipping Point.

The difference between enjoyment and loathing boils down to this: The narrative voice of the Steven/Stephen duo was self-important, arrogant, and (by their own admission) didn't build up toward anything. Gladwell, on the other hand, is endearing, sensitive, and entirely relatable. His whole approach comes more from the "I'm a curious guy and isn't this cool?!" side of things, rather than "I am an expert and I am here to bless you ignorant groundlings with my knowledge. You may kiss the hem of my garment" side of things. That difference in attitude made all the difference to me as a reader. With the Steph(v)ens, I had my Skeptical Hat on and petulantly second-guessed every arrogant word they wrote, whereas with Our Pal Malcolm I bopped right along with the This American Life-ish non-scientific inquiry into social phenomena, and was much more ready to forgive his editorial stretchings to unite some loosely related ideas because, ultimately, the ideas he is positing are super interesting to think about.

Two more notes about this humble curiosity vs. arrogance thing, and then I'll stop beating that dead horse. The Steph(v)ens approach the people in their studies with an air of judgmental condescension, whereas Our Pal Malcolm tends to elaborate on the person's best qualities - how kind and open and engaging they are. His genuine love of his research and the people he meets along the way is contagious, and makes the material all the more engaging by hitting us on that human level. And secondly, if I have not made my point clear enough and you'd like a little illustration for yourself, look no further than the afterwards of both of these books. The Steph(v)ens leave us with a self-indulgent Q&A, in which they provide marginally informational but mostly smart ass answers to readers' questions (One of the Steph(v)en's answers to the "What is your favorite book?" question, was the Twilight series, which was also a huge blow to their credibility in my eyes, but I guess that's just my own judgmental condescension). Ol' M.G., on the other hand, writes a follow-up addressing the emails and comments he has received from readers since The Tipping Point's initial publication, and even rethinks some of his initial theories and examples based on his readers' insights.

Furthermore, Gladwell is great at building all of his research into a "What Now?" Unlike the Steph(v)ens, who want us to be dazzled with the information at hand whether or not it amounts to anything in the practical world, Gladwell makes his ideas seem relevant and applicable to our lives, even in just a casual way. And, when all is said and done, that's much more interesting to take in.

Reading The Tipping Point feels a little bit like sitting next to someone really interesting at a dinner party. And, as Mikey Lampl can attest to, that Malcolm Gladwell has a voice as mellow and soothing as the ocean waves, so if you imagine him reading it aloud to you, all the better.