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Cover of Talking to Strangers

Non-Fiction · 2019 · PG-13

Talking to Strangers

by Malcolm Gladwell

Why can't we tell when people are lying — and how does our failure to read strangers go so badly wrong?

Malcolm Gladwell, host of the podcast Revisionist History and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Outliers, offers a powerful examination of our interactions with strangers and why they often go wrong—now with a new afterword by the author. A Best Book of the Year: The Financial Times, Bloomberg, Chicago Tribune, and Detroit Free Press How did Fidel Castro fool the CIA for a generation? Why did Neville Chamberlain think he could trust Adolf Hitler? Why are campus sexual assaults on the rise? Do television sitcoms teach us something about the way we relate to one another that isn’t true?

For14+GenreNon-FictionLength386 pagesRead time~10.5 hours

This analysis was generated by AI from publicly available reader reviews, literary criticism, and book discussions. It has not been verified by a BookLens community reviewer and may contain errors. Be the first to verify →

Content snapshot

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What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.

Violence

Barely any

Discussion of violence — Sandra Bland's death, historical cases; handled analytically

Language

None

No profanity

Sexual Content

Barely any

Sexual abuse cases discussed analytically (Sandusky)

Substance Use

None

Alcohol's role in misread situations discussed

Emotional Intensity

Some

Psychologically unsettling themes — our systematic failure to understand other people and the tragic consequences

What this book is about

Gladwell's 2019 book examines the tragic consequences of misreading strangers. Beginning with the death of Sandra Bland and moving through cases from Jerry Sandusky to Bernie Madoff to Amanda Knox, Gladwell argues that we are systematically bad at reading people we don't know. Some disturbing case studies. Appropriate for adults and older teens.

Notes for sensitive readers

Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.

Sandra Bland death discussed

Sexual abuse cases discussed analytically

Disturbing case studies

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