Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

David and Goliath

By: Malcolm Gladwell
Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

David and Goliath is the dazzling and provocative new book from Malcolm Gladwell, best-selling author of The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers and What the Dog Saw.

Why do underdogs succeed so much more than we expect? How do the weak outsmart the strong? In David and Goliath Malcolm Gladwell takes us on a scintillating and surprising journey through the hidden dynamics that shape the balance of power between the small and the mighty. From the conflicts in Northern Ireland and Vietnam, through the tactics of civil rights leaders and the problem of privilege, Gladwell demonstrates how we misunderstand the true meaning of advantage and disadvantage.

When does a traumatic childhood work in someone's favour? How can a disability leave someone better off? And do you really want your child to go to the best school he or she can get into? David and Goliath draws on the stories of remarkable underdogs, history, science, psychology and on Malcolm Gladwell's unparalleled ability to make the connections others miss. It's a brilliant, illuminating book that overturns conventional thinking about power and advantage.

Author, journalist, cultural commentator, and intellectual adventurer, Malcolm Gladwell was born in 1963 in England to a Jamaican mother and an English mathematician father. He grew up in Canada and graduated with a degree in history from the University of Toronto in 1984. From 1987 to 1996, he was a reporter for The Washington Post, first as a science writer and then as New York City bureau chief. Since 1996, he has been a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine.

His curiosity and breadth of interests are shown in New Yorker articles ranging over a wide array of subjects including early childhood development and the flu, not to mention hair dye, shopping and what it takes to be cool. His first book, The Tipping Point, captured the world's attention with its theory that a curiously small change can have unforeseen effects, and the phrase has become part of our language, used by writers, politicians and business people everywhere to describe cultural trends and strange phenomena. His other international best-selling books are Blink, which explores how a snap judgment can be far more effective than a cautious decision, and What the Dog Saw, a collection of his most provocative and entertaining New Yorker pieces.

©2013 Malcolm Gladwell (P)2013 Audible Ltd
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Bomber Mafia cover art
Outliers cover art
One Hundred Years of Dirt cover art
I Hate the Ivy League cover art
Miracle and Wonder cover art
My Brother Moochie cover art
Tribes cover art
Capital in the Twenty-First Century cover art
Misbehaving cover art
Some NEW Kind of Trailer Trash cover art
The True American cover art
The Dip cover art
The Great Mental Models cover art
Tribe of Mentors cover art
The Wind in the Reeds cover art
The Brothers Karamazov [Naxos AudioBooks Edition] cover art

Editor reviews

Best-selling author and journalist Malcolm Gladwell has written and narrated a compelling examination of power in his new-release audiobook David and Goliath. Using the classic biblical tale as an example, Gladwell highlights the reasons why it is possible for the small, feeble and unlikely people in the world to take on and quite often win against far bigger, stronger opponents. See the age-old struggle of power broken down to its core and understand far more as to why and how people succeed against all the odds. Available now from Audible.

Critic reviews

"A global phenomenon... there is, it seems, no subject over which he cannot scatter some magic dust." ( Observer)

What listeners say about David and Goliath

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,141
  • 4 Stars
    526
  • 3 Stars
    195
  • 2 Stars
    31
  • 1 Stars
    17
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,130
  • 4 Stars
    387
  • 3 Stars
    104
  • 2 Stars
    17
  • 1 Stars
    9
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    972
  • 4 Stars
    429
  • 3 Stars
    191
  • 2 Stars
    25
  • 1 Stars
    25

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

It gets really dark

As you progress through the book it gets really dark.... stories are so graphic and horrific I had to fast forward certain bits not to traumatise myself... should come with a warning that it has a lot of description of violence and children suffering..
Other than that not bad! I wish he would make the book less dark...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Incredible book

Great narrating by MG and one of the best books I came across this year.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant read yet again from Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell yet again comes up with the goods.. Brilliant read.. So interesting, his analysis and level of detail in the story is captivating.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Really enjoyed this book. Easy to listen to and engaging and interesting throughout. Highly recommend- especially if you are a parent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another fantastic read from Malcolm Gladwell.

Brilliant narration and an interesting journalistic piece again from Malcolm Gladwell. If you like his other work then this is right up your street.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting concept and delivery

A great use of relevant anecdotes and stories to really drive a new mindset!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting

Interesting, yes. But nothing mind blowing. Some of the stories were a bit too abstract and mundane to fully capture my imagination.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great listen read by Malcolm

If you already enjoy Malcolm Gladwells work then this is great listen although I would recommend 'Talking to Strangers' for anyone new to him as his newer books have refined the format of the audiobook.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Story of encouragement

This book is encouraging for many who face challenges, where often the big fish can be brought down by the underdog, who is often under resourced

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

gladwell is an exceptional storyteller

the most interesting and well written book I have listened to in a long time. I would highly reccomend.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!