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Revenge of the Tipping Point

Overstories, Superspreaders and the Rise of Social Engineering

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Revenge of the Tipping Point

By: Malcolm Gladwell
Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
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About this listen

A lot has changed in 25 years. A quarter-century after the publication of his groundbreaking first book, Malcolm Gladwell returns with a brand-new volume that reframes the lessons of The Tipping Point in a startling and revealing light - this time in an immersive audio format that transports you, the listener, directly inside of each riveting story.

Why is Miami... Miami? What does the heartbreaking fate of the cheetah tell us about the way we raise our children? Why do Ivy League schools care so much about sports? What is the Magic Third, and what does it mean for racial harmony? In this provocative new work, Malcolm Gladwell returns to the subject of social epidemics and tipping points, this time with the aim of explaining the dark side of contagious phenomena.

Through a series of gripping stories, Gladwell traces the rise of a new and troubling form of social engineering. As with his podcast Revisionist History and bestsellers Talking to Strangers and The Bomber Mafia, pressing play on this audiobook will bring each scene and story to life with vivid first-person accounts, captivating oral histories, illuminating moments from history past and present, and a cinematic original music score.

Take to the streets of Los Angeles with Malcolm to meet the world's most successful bank robbers, rediscover a forgotten television show from the 1970s that changed the world, visit the site of a historic experiment on a tiny cul-de-sac in northern California, and explore an alternate history of two of the biggest epidemics of our day: COVID and the opioid crisis.

Revenge of the Tipping Point is Gladwell's most personal book yet. With his characteristic mix of storytelling and social science, he offers a guide to making sense of the contagions of the modern world. It's time we took tipping points seriously.

©2024 Malcolm Gladwell (P)2024 Hachette Audio UK
Best of 2024 Editors Select Sociology

Editorial Review

What’s wrong with the world today?
I’m so excited to hear Malcolm Gladwell's latest audiobook, Revenge of the Tipping Point, which revisits and reframes his groundbreaking concepts from 25 years ago. The promise of gripping stories about everything from bank robbers to forgotten TV shows, combined with Gladwell's unique insights into social phenomena, has me eager to press play as soon as it hits my library. I'm particularly intrigued by how he'll explore the dark side of what he calls “contagious phenomena” and what new perspectives he'll offer on issues like the COVID pandemic and the opioid crisis. With all of the technological, political and social developments that have happened in the past two and a half decades, Gladwell’s newest listen couldn’t have come at a more critical cultural moment. — Rachael X., Audible Editor

All stars
Most relevant  
MG has produced a beautifully written, meticulously researched investigation into what can change culture. Fascinating.

Insightful

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The author narrates this book perfectly as he builds and weaves his arguments. Informative, captivating and engaging. This book covers disturbing topics with compassion& accountability.

Exceptional journalism and expertly narrated

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Really love the way he explains concepts and introduces ideas that change my understanding of the world. Another spectacular contribution.

If you love Gladwell

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Too much background music which distracts from the telling of the story. I listen to books at 1.5x, so the music just sounds funny

Interesting ideas, leaving much to wonder about

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Mr G’s specialty is unexpected implications of research in the social sciences, and to a lesser extent hard sciences, e.g., the sections on Covid superspreaders, and Oxycontin super-prescribers here. His gift is story-telling. His technique, much imitated but never bettered IMO, is to take engagingly told personal stories on apparently disparate themes then tie them together and turn them into parables. His reading of the audiobook is more performance art than mere narration. Like him or hate him, there’s only one Malcolm Gladwell, whether you agree with what he has to say or not.

Tipster

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Such an amazing listen, delivered in such an engaging way. Full of contemporary and historical examples to masterfully illustrate critical points all about sociology and tipping points more specifically. Love it!

So captivating and insightful

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I came to this as an early fan of the original Tipping Point, and Malcolm Gladwell has not disappointed. Revenge of the Tipping Point is compellingly argued and if it had been a physical book, I would have found it difficult to put down. The performance and sound design elements are standouts in the audiobook class, adding tension and affect to the listening experience. I can’t wait to spam all my friends and urge them to listen to this excellent book.

Exquisitely presented and compellingly argued

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Tipping points are everywhere. The rise of Trump (not covered) to the failure of the Yes campaign and gambling advertising in Australia.

What Malcolm Gladwell describes (Here things are mostly failures and although gay marriage and acknowledgement of the Holocaust are upsides) are that things can go bad with a critical mass not 50% of support.

When he lays the cause and impact everything seems to make absolute sense. Though, I am a sucker for logic.

Like Superspreaders he talks about, read it

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Malcolms typical smooth jazz like audio performance is honey to the ears (should be no faster than 1.10 speed). Conclusion is a little underwhelming. Otherwise the overlapping story threads and unique social patterns mirror concepts from Daniel Kahnemanns - noise in a relatable way.

Subtle, balanced and quintessential social commentary Malcolm Gladwell is known for

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Malcolm is one our generations best writers and thinkers. Every time I listen to him or read him, I am left smarter with a more holistic view of the world. Thank you Malcolm.

What a writer

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