The Tipping Point

New Yorker staff writer, best-selling author and cultural icon Malcolm Gladwell also wrote Blink, Outliers, What the Dog Saw, and David and Goliath. His latest book is The Bomber Mafia.

But it all started with The Tipping Point, the bestseller that made Gladwell a household name. Published in 2000, it remains among the top 1,000 bestsellers on Amazon. Gladwell introduces concepts that still resonate – for example, that effective ad campaigns, clothing trends, ways of thought and cultural change stick in your mind and influence your actions, purchases and self-perception. He discusses social epidemics and social contagions defined by the spread of localized trends or attitudes – such as hipsters wearing Hush Puppies brand shoes. These branding epidemics spark broad change, generate solutions both conservative and counterintuitive, and may even redefine what you regard as normal.