Talking to Strangers cover art

Talking to Strangers

What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know

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Talking to Strangers

By: Malcolm Gladwell
Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

The highly anticipated new book from Malcom Gladwell, host of the chart-topping podcast Revisionist History.

With original archival interviews and musical scoring, this enhanced audiobook edition of Talking to Strangers brings Gladwell’s renowned storytelling to life in his unparalleled narrating style.

The routine traffic stop that ends in tragedy. The spy who spends years undetected at the highest levels of the Pentagon. The false conviction of Amanda Knox. Why do we so often get other people wrong? Why is it so hard to detect a lie, read a face or judge a stranger's motives?

Through a series of encounters and misunderstandings - from history, psychology and infamous legal cases - Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual adventure into the darker side of human nature, where strangers are never simple and misreading them can have disastrous consequences.

No one challenges our shared assumptions like Malcolm Gladwell. Here he uses stories of deceit and fatal errors to cast doubt on our strategies for dealing with the unknown, inviting us to rethink our thinking in these troubled times.

©2019 Malcolm Gladwell (P)2019 Malcolm Gladwell
Psychology Social Sciences Thought-Provoking Stranger Inspiring

Critic Reviews

"I love this book...reading it will actually change not just how you see strangers, but how you look at yourself, the news - the world. Reading this book changed me." (Oprah Winfrey)

What listeners say about Talking to Strangers

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Love the enhanced audio book format

Really loved the audio clips, music backing tracks and interview material which interspersed the narration. This is Gladwell at his best, confronting and insightful.
This book should challenge and change you.

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Brain food

This book is well researched with a passion for the human story. The unvarnished truth. I am still processing the nuances of his structured approach to this information. Just brilliant!

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Eye Opening

Lots to learn here if you like the study of human behaviour. Well researched material and a great voice to listen to. Put together like the unraveling of a mystery. Highly recommend, thank you Malcolm.

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Malcolm brings it

it's always a joy to listen to Malcolm and he doesn't disappoint here either. The story itself has a couple of turns that will keep you hooked.

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Coupling.

Gladwell is brilliant as always, I couldn't put it down. such an eye opening set of ideas.

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Random, thoughtful and thought provoking.

I didn't look at the book before purchasing other than knowing it was Malcolm Gladwell. But it was great. Went some random places but was brought back full circle in the end. Loved how they used primary sources where possible.

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Worth it

Interesting ideas. If you like Gladwell’s podcast, you’ll probably like this. Very much in the same spirit.

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A new benchmark in Audio books

The latest contribution from Gladwell does not disappoint. I found the thesis and supporting evidence difficult to resist. The production of this account is simply outstanding and has set a new performance benchmark for others to follow. My favourite chapters are the Queen of Cuba, Amanda Knox and the undergrad Frat woes. Gladwell patiently and deftly argues his case that in taking to strangers we need to exercise restraint and humility- another classic from a master story teller

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We no longer live in a village

Malcolm Gladwell does his usual immaculate story telling, challenging so much that we take for granted. The concepts in this book will stay with me and, I hope, help me to do better when talking to ‘strangers’.

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Beautifully weaved - hugely insightful

Malcolm takes you on a journey and paints a vivid picture about communication and our challenges as humans. To tell you more would be to spoil the journey for you. This audiobook is more akin to a podcast, with a musical score and a range of voice actors.

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