Reviews with content warning for Police brutality - Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don't Know

Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don't Know by Malcolm Gladwell

86 reviews

megmeb's review against another edition

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dark informative medium-paced

4.0

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waterbear0821's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative reflective fast-paced

3.25

This was good and interesting but oh-so-bleak and the whole dang book should be a trigger warning. The impetus for the book was the author’s preoccupation with the death of Sandra Bland, and he goes about describing the worst results of every betrayal that can be perpetrated and every misunderstanding humans can have, starting with Hitler and not getting any more upbeat from there. Learning about spies and con men is interesting but it leaves me feeling wrung out. And the rest of the book was even more disgusting and heartbreaking. It’s interesting to be sure. But did I learn anything I can apply to my life? Maybe this was a fitting opus for Sandra Bland’s horrible and needless death. Human beings are the worst.

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sabrielsbell's review against another edition

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challenging emotional

4.0

I listened to this on audiobook and really liked the narrators. Some things I enjoyed about this book was the narrative aspects and the dig into current and historical events that dealt with miscommunication. I also liked the way the author slowly added on to the concept he was presenting.

There were a few things that kept me from giving it a five star rating. Mainly, there were several incredibly hard topics that were used to illustrate a point in the book which I did not mind. However, I think the author could have done a better job making sure the reader knew his stance on some of these cases. For example, Brock Turner and his assault is one of the cases. The author uses this story to illustrate the negative roles of alcohol in relation to stranger interactions. I wish the author had also made it clear that Brock Turner was wrong regardless of the alcohol. He does call the assault tragic, horrible etc. and discusses the ruling by the court and why it went the way it did. But, at times it felt that the author was rationalizing Brock's actions instead of using it to make a point. However, after listening to the whole book, I don't think the author was in any way siding with Brock or any of the "bad" people discussed. If the author had been more clear though I think this would be a book I recommended to more people.

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chemeducator's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

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ezreaadingo's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

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miramacabre's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative reflective medium-paced

3.75

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readingthief's review against another edition

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informative fast-paced

4.25

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rdesanto's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

This was a difficult read because of the challenging topics presented. However, it was most insightful and tactfully presented in line with all his other books. I will definitely be reflecting on the information presented for a long time.

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zydecovivo's review against another edition

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informative reflective tense slow-paced

3.0

I learned about Malcolm Gladwell through his podcast, Revisionist History. Because of that, I prefer to listen to his books. This one in particular includes interviews, music, and recreated court scenes that I find helpful for keeping my attention. If you are coming into this blind, Gladwell has a way of writing and speaking that is very matter-of-fact and blunt. He intertwines history with personal interviews and studies to illustrate his points, which are usually out of the box or defy convention. He writes as if his answer is the correct, obvious, and logical conclusion. So if you disagree with his assessment of a situation, I can understand why it would be upsetting. This particular book covers some darker topics, such as police brutality, sexual assault, and suicide, and Gladwell’s characteristic tone doesn’t quite bring the empathy I think is needed to approach them. However, he does raise interesting points and provides new ways of thinking about how we communicate, how we trust or distrust, and how we think about others. The overall ideas are interesting and worth talking about, but if you are not in the right headspace to face some graphic descriptions of assault, put this off for a little while.

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claire2024's review against another edition

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fast-paced

3.5

i think some of the passages surrounding the second chapter could have been done more carefully as they felt somewhat victim-blamy

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