David and Goliath

I'd be lying if I told you that I am not thrilled and surprised that our Special Guest Reviewer agreed to write a review.  Erik is my husband.  He reads a lot. We discuss books a lot.  However, he has never once wrote a review for me.  When I asked him if he would write a review I was of course hoping, but I wasn't hopeful.  However, my husband is a good man and he surprised me yet again.  

I am happy to say that our last book review of 2013 will be by Erik.  Thanks honey!

David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell was a birthday present for me this year (one of my wish list books).  I have really enjoyed Malcolm Gladwell books so I looked forward to this.  It is a good, quick read (maybe because I could not put it down sometimes) that  made me think.  

The premise of the book is to reevaluate how we look at life and what we consider are advantages in life.  Much like how we have been taught that David was the underdog in the story of David vs. Goliath, Gladwell reevaluates that premise by stating that David with his skill with the sling had the advantage against Goliath because he could move quickly and had a weapon perfectly matched to slay the giant who could not move in his heavy armor and had to be within an arms reach to be victorious.  

Gladwell explores topics such as classroom size, life hardships as a child (dyslexia or having a parent die at an early age), how we view higher education (being a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond), and how governments rule and how citizens respond to that rule.  For instance there is the thought by "the world", for lack of a better word, that the smaller the classroom size the better it is for student education.  However, Gladwell argues that classrooms can become too small, about 18 students where teachers don't use the extra time gained by less students for one-on-one time and there aren't enough differences in way of thought or learning levels for every student to feel included.

The book got me to see things in another way even though some of the topics are heavy.  I appreciate the different view of what typically is portrayed by the world, but I feel that Gladwell skips over some important issues while trying to explain his point.  It is definitely worth a read to get a different perspective about life. 

Overall I'd give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.