What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures is a collection of essays by Malcolm Gladwell which were originally published in The New Yorker. Grouped into three parts, the text gets its name from the fact that each article attempts to tell its story through the eyes of someone who witnessed the events, even if that someone is, in fact, a dog.
The first section, Obsessives, Pioneers, and other varieties of Minor Genius, outlines the stories of several individuals who meet two apparently disparate characteristics. First, these individuals are very good at what they do, to the point of being worthy of being considered leaders in their respective fields. Second, these individuals are all mostly, if not entirely, unknown.
Second is Theories, Predictions, and Diagnosis, which is a section devoted to describing the problems inherent in attempting to make predictions. In this section, Gladwell addresses the famous Enron scandal, as well as the concept of intelligence failure.
Finally, there is Personality, Character, and Intelligence. This final section is dedicated to exploring a wide array of psychological and sociological matters. Topics like criminal profiling and the difference between early and late bloomers are featured in this section.
This collection of essays will give you a great deal to think about. The carefully crafted pieces are able to meaningfully address their topics in the brief space they are each allotted, and may very well leave readers wondering what it is that their dog sees.
Malcolm Gladwell is a British-Canadian author, speaker, and journalist. The author of four bestselling works of nonfiction, Gladwell has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996. A graduate of Toronto University's Trinity College, he was the recipient of the American Sociological Association's first Award for Excellence in the Reporting of Social Issues in 2007.
"This book was hit or miss for me. Some parts captured my attention, like the birth control or criminal profiling sections, but he spends a lot of time on topics like the Exxon collapse and the stock market, which were a bit more dry. I'd recommend it, but only to jump through at your convenience."
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Cecilia (4 out of 5 stars)