Talking to StrangersTalking to Strangers
Score Modern
What it's about
How did Fidel Castro fool the CIA for a generation? Why did Neville Chamberlain trust Hitler? Malcolm Gladwell examines why our interactions with strangers so often go wrong, and the dangerous assumptions we make about other people.
Why it's worth reading
It spent 2 weeks at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and 88 weeks on the lists.
You'll love it if you liked
Outliers: The Story of Success
Blink
Thinking, Fast and SlowGood to know
It deals with sexual assault and police violence. The audiobook is produced like a podcast.
By the numbers
- Readers27 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller79 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #87 of the 119 science and ideas books we rank
- #851 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #1575 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Thought-provoking
More by Malcolm Gladwell
Outliers: The Story of Success
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big DifferenceBlink
Revenge of the Tipping PointIf you like this, read next
A Game of Thrones
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
The Body Keeps the Score
The Fifth Season
Dungeon Crawler Carl
When Breath Becomes AirExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Science and ideas booksTop 25 · 119 ranked
Modern booksTop 25 · 1,573 ranked
Books of the 2010sTop 25 · 736 ranked
Fantasy booksTop 25 · 459 ranked
Mysteries and thrillersTop 25 · 555 ranked
Literary novelsTop 25 · 309 ranked
Memoirs and biographiesTop 25 · 290 ranked
Science fiction booksTop 25 · 313 rankedQuick answers
Is Talking to Strangers worth reading?
Yes. It spent 2 weeks at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and 88 weeks on the lists. It ranks #1,575 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 67.6 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Talking to Strangers about?
How did Fidel Castro fool the CIA for a generation? Why did Neville Chamberlain trust Hitler? Malcolm Gladwell examines why our interactions with strangers so often go wrong, and the dangerous assumptions we make about other people.
How long does it take to read Talking to Strangers?
About 8 hours (304 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Talking to Strangers?
If you liked it, try Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell, Blink by Malcolm Gladwell or Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.