(Book Review) David and Goliath, 2nd Edition

Overview

Review Published: May, 2022.

From columnist, reporter, and author Malcolm Gladwell comes a brief examination of the nature of power.

From examining how people typically perceive power, to the limits of what that power can achieve, this book serves as an examination of how that traditional conceptualization can be turned on its head in several surprising ways.

Rating:

3.5 / 5

(Great Content, Presentation Needs Polishing)

What does this score mean?

Difficulty:

Beginner (Concepts and ideas are accessible to everyone).

Length:

327 pages.

Where to Buy It:

(Quick Note) To maintain editorial integrity, I do not use affliate links or any other kind of affiliate marketing in my reviews.

Check your Local Library:

In addition to books and periodicals, many local libraries give their patrons access to a wide array of video and instructional resources. Check with your local library for details.

What's Good

Worthwhile & insightful ideas; this examination of power breaks with the traditional conceptualizations we generally have (i.e. that it stems from greater resources, greater prestige, etc.), and introduces some very interesting and useful ideas of how to view power more realistically (i.e. desirable difficulties leading to more flexible and effective leadership, disadvantages of perceived advantage, etc.).
Incredibly well researched & sourced; there is a generous amount of footnotes for added context through every chapter, and all examples are exhaustively sourced with lots of endnotes.
Easy-going, conversational tone; the author never buries the reader in cryptic language or inappropriate examples, and keeps things moving along at a good pace (for the most part).

What Can Be Improved

Points are sometimes buried in examples; in a few chapters, the author takes a bit too much time getting to his point, making his thesis a bit difficult to clearly identify amongst all of the examples.
Sometimes hard to keep the thread; while some chapters state the point up front and proceed into examples to support it, others take the opposite approach making it a bit difficult to keep the overall point in mind (which at times makes it difficult to pick the book back up).

The Bottom Line

An introduction to the nature of leadership; while many people think that power is what enables leadership (hint: it doesn’t), this book turns that assumption on its head in some very surprising ways to present more options for emerging leaders.
For anyone interested in power and how it can be used in different contexts; the author challenges the assumption that effective leaders only arise from powerful organizations/groups, and showcases several instances where perceived disadvantages can foster a more powerful type of leader.
A good value for the curious; if you are interested in the various aspects of power (and by extension, its implications for leadership) this is worth the $20 it’ll cost you.