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Blink
The Power Of Thinking Without Thinking
by Malcolm Gladwell


6.6

based on 25 reviews
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The bestselling author of The Tipping Point returns with a look at our ability as humans to make decisions, and the various factors that contribute to determine how quickly, and how well, each of us can make those decisions.

Little, Brown, 288 pages
01/11/2005
$25.95

ISBN: 0316172324

Nonfiction
Social Sciences

All reviews are classified as one of five grades: Outstanding (4 points), Favorable (3), Mixed (2), Unfavorable (1) and Terrible (0). To calculate the Metascore, we divide total points achieved by the total points possible (i.e., 4 x the number of reviews), with the resulting percentage (multiplied by 100) being the Metascore. Learn more...

Entertainment Weekly Jennifer Reese

You can't judge a book by its cover. But Gladwell had me at hello -- and kept me hooked to the final page.

Library Journal Mary Ann Hughes

Gladwell gets the science facts right and has the journalistic skills to make them utterly engrossing. [15 Nov 2004, p.75]

Publishers Weekly

Entertaining and illuminating. [1 Nov 2004, p.52]

The Onion A.V. Club Donna Bowman

Blink cements his position as the most engaging essayist working at the intersection of science and culture.

USA Today Bob Minzesheimer

As a researcher, Gladwell doesn't break much new ground. But he's talented at popularizing others' research. He's a clever storyteller who synthesizes and translates the work of psychologists, market researchers and criminologists.

Salon Farhad Manjoo

The writer is in top form in "Blink," and the reading here is a real pleasure.

Washington Post Howard Gardner

The book features the fascinating case studies, skilled interweavings of psychological experiments and explanations and unexpected connections among disparate phenomenon that are Gladwell's impressive trademark.

The New York Times Book Review David Brooks

If you want to trust my snap judgment, buy this book: you'll be delighted. If you want to trust my more reflective second judgment, buy it: you'll be delighted but frustrated, troubled and left wanting more.

Houston Chronicle Steve Weinberg

So, yes, the book sounds like a self-help manual from time to time. But what a self-help manual it is -- lucid, endlessly fascinating, controversial.

Los Angeles Times Thane Rosenbaum

Gladwell is an engaging writer and a first-rate tour guide. [10 Jan 2005]

Kirkus Reviews

All these stories are nicely written and most inform and entertain at the same time, but they don't add up to anything terribly profound, despite the author's sometimes Skywalker-ish enthusiasm. [1 Oct 2004, p.948]

Booklist Donna Seaman

Gladwell's groundbreaking explication of a key aspect of human nature is enlightening, provocative, and great fun to read. [1 Sep 2004, p.2]

Boston Globe Chris Navratil

If ultimately ''Blink" proves a less successful undertaking than ''The Tipping Point," it may be due to the more linear nature of the material Gladwell has assembled here.

Chicago Sun-Times Mark Athitakis

A playful if sometimes maddening pop psychology study of how and why people make snap judgments.

Christian Science Monitor Clayton Collins

Gladwell... again shows himself to be a consummate case-builder.

Chicago Tribune Mark Coatney

Even if Gladwell can't fully describe why this train is running, it's a really fun ride.

Village Voice Jenny Davidson

Gladwell's got a lovely prose style and an eye for the striking anecdote.

The Guardian Catherine Bennett

Since it features some likely-looking jargon and various marketing anecdotes, it may well delight his corporate fans. But Blink is a muddle.

Daily Telegraph Anthony Daniels

Gladwell's book, which starts well enough, meanders and begins to go off the point about halfway through.

The New York Times Janet Maslin

He delivers what is essentially a hybrid of marketing wisdom and self-help - stronger on broad, catchy constructs than on innovative thinking.

San Francisco Chronicle David Kipen

Smart, provocative but slippery... Too much of "Blink" reads like a longish string of features from the New Yorker.

Wall Street Journal George Anders

Mr. Gladwell is a gifted storyteller, able to find memorable characters and delightful anecdotes wherever he goes. But for much of the book, he struggles to figure out what he really wants to say.

The Globe And Mail [Toronto] Thomas Homer-Dixon

By the end of this book, the reader is left with a mishmash of half-developed ideas and no real understanding of fast cognition's intricacies or how it can go astray. [8 Jan 2005, p.D4]

The New Republic Richard A. Posner

A series of loosely connected anecdotes, rich in "human interest" particulars but poor in analysis.

Daily Telegraph Edward Skidelsky

Rarely have such bold claims been advanced on the basis of such flimsy evidence.

The average user rating for this book is 6.6 (out of 10) based on 25 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jesse S gave it an8:
Cleverly written, interesting book. Shows the importance of both intuition and analysis in effective thinking and acting.

Mohammed R gave it a9:
This book is so good, and so easy to read. Just like his other book, " The tipping point", the book introduces so many new concepts and tons of information. This book will help one understand how people make good and bad decisions about situations and people in only micro seconds.

Adam M gave it an8:
Gladwell did what he set out to do. He put into laymen's terms, over the course of a 250 easy read, a very large amount of information and research. It is pallatable and intriguing. Furthermore, I have seem many reviewers and bloggers debating his main thesis that intuition in some cases provides a better or more effective conclusion than its pondered counterpart. He provides insight for many people into cutting edge research that will have everlasting effects on the way in which we view the world.

Shogo T gave it a9:
The book is very encouraging. I could agree with his idea with my "unconciousness" even thought I came from the far east. Many readers seem to claim for its lack of "the solution", however, i believe that its just matter of our unique backbones, isnt it? I found this book very exciting... yea no critisizing or analysis for this one...

Bryan W gave it a4:
Interesting stories, but completely undeveloped conclusions. His basic theory is that snap judgement work great, except when they don't. Unfortunately, he gives no serious explanation or even details regarding when, how, or why snap judgements underperform. I kept wanting a serious discussion of each chapter's basic story but was left without. Underdeveloped.

vinod k gave it a6:
The book has lot of interesting stories to tell. But the concoction was not as good as the Tipping point. It seems the author was going astray of the the title. The final chapter is totally unnecessary. There is no conclusive chapter. He falls short of the claim that by the end we develop blink abilities. Tipping point had a very conclusive chapter where we know definitely what to look and whom to approach to start an epidemic; it also tells about the context and sticky factor. But, blink tells only stories and not much hint on how to perfect our blink abillity. A poor edition!

T H gave it a5:
This is not a book about HOW to "think without thinking", or about making one's OWN decisions, but rather, anecdotes from others' intuitions, that are not even generalizable to the common reader.

Blink The Power Of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

Blink
The Power Of Thinking Without Thinking
by Malcolm Gladwell