A review by trash_candra
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

informative reflective medium-paced

3.0

What Blink lacks in solid points it makes up for in recounting a bunch of interesting studies and stories. The actual thesis of the book is wishy washy, but I think it's that people make really quick snap judgements that can be incredibly useful, especially when you're experienced, but those snap judgements are very biased.

I don't usually use pro and con lists, but I feel it's the best way to summarize all the stuff happening in this book

Pros:
-The book is very light and readable
-The historical examples of snap judgements were entertaining and informative
-It clearly defines the terms it uses throughout the book so there weren't any parts that were confusing or jargon
-Malcolm Gladwell is a very engaging narrator

Cons:
-The central point of the book is unclear
-The book is pretty light on meaningful analysis
-There's a single chapter that gets REALLY ableist Spoilerrefers to police officers unjustly shooting innocent people as experiencing "temporary autism"
-The narrator themself seems to flip-flip on what their opinion is
-The book loves telling stories, but sometimes it just casually references a historical event or story without describing it or how it relates to the overall meaning (such as Rodney King and Gladwell's previous books)

Expand filter menu Content Warnings