What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures

Whew! Glad I Finished that One

I have read with pleasure Malcolm Gladstone's books "Blink" and "Outliers" with fascination and interest and with level of intensity that made those two books quite enjoyable. I did not have the same experience with "What the Dog Saw." It is not the same. Perhaps Gladstone's attempt to cobble together old columns and writings just does not work for me. I found reading this book and getting through it an ordeal. I always finish a book even when I am not particularly enjoying it. This one bordered on being painful to get through. Then again, it could just be me. I am not a fan of short story books either. Some of the topics addressed by Gladstone were interesting such as the opening chapter about "The Pitchman," but that interest and intensity of writing is just not sustained throughout the whole book. "Outliers" and "Blink" were thought-provoking, engaging, and fascinating, but this one never rises to the same level. There are books that I would call not very enjoyable, but a worthwhile read. I am sorry to say that I just can't call this one a worthwhile read. I'm afraid this one was one of those published with the hopes that because of Gladwell's previous successes, it would see success as well. I am sure it has sold well, but this is one of those books that can make you not want to read any more by this author.

4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

What the Author Saw in His New Book What the Dog Saw

Malcolm Gladwell is a supreme writer. Be it any one of his three past bestsellers or his newest book, Gladwell's writing is clear, exciting, and clearly holds the interest of the reader.

In What the Dog Saw, Gladwell shares his favorite columns spanning the past thirteen years from his regular writing gig with The New Yorker magazine.

The title came from his interview and research for a column he wrote, and included in this book, on Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer. When Gladwell started writing that particular column he wondered what Millan was thinking as he trained some of the most difficult and ill behaved dogs one can find. In the middle of writing the column, Gladwell decided the more interesting question was what did the dog see during Millan's training.

The author also shares a bit of his personal and professional life with readers in this book. And, he gives his secret for finding columns on subjects that may not readily lend themselves to writing about. Topics such as gourmet mustard and regular ole ketchup are brought to life and make the reader think.

This is a great read by a great contemporary writer and columnist.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A Glance At Another Perspective

"The trick to finding ideas is to convince yourself that everyone and everything has a story to tell" (xix). In my opinion, What the Dog Saw is a clever way to gain insight on information that Gladwell calls "adventures;" a collection of 19 articles placed into three specific categories: minor geniuses, theories and predictions. I am not usually intrigued by social science or psychology... I am, after all, a senior in High School who prides myself on being an "abstract thinker," "creative," and an "artist," but surprisingly Malcolm Gladwell took particular topics and articulately portrayed experiences with a tone of great excitement and curiosity for the subjects, which allowed me to continue reading the book with an excited anticipation. I understand the arguments from people who had previously read Gladwell's articles in The New Yorker; it was nothing new. But for those craving a logical book filled with facts, and a bit of passion, it was refreshing, to say the least.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A Fun and Engaging Read. Interesting and Enlarging.

I enjoy books and articles that give me a bigger picture of the world. Malcolm Gladwell does it with prose that is both faced paced and substantive. Many people will suspect that these reprinted articles from the New Yorker are just a way of cashing in on previous successes, and they may well be, but they are well worth the read. These insights into human nature and experience, giving us the real story behind people and events, are perhaps the only real truths available to us. "What the Dog Saw" spoke to me on both emotional and intellectual levels in a very satisfying way. Light, enjoyable reading that informs and inspires is a big part of what good writing is all about. I enjoyed his earlier book, "Outliers," in much the same way. But here the greater variety of subjects, each presented with sufficient depth that never bogs down, was even more insightful, expanding and encouraging. With the constant deluge of bad news, and with the winter chill freezing us out even down here in Florida, Malcolm's writing is a fresh, warm and fragrant breeze. I looked forward to reading "What the Dog Saw" in the same way I look forward to getting together with good friends. However, this book always fit into my schedule.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Very interesting reading

I bought What the Dog Saw on impulse which usually is not a good thing. I was pleasently surprised when I found that I actually enjoyed reading Mr Gladwell's articles even on topics that I would have skipped over if I was reading the original in the magazine. I would not have expected to be interested in articles on womens hair coloring or pitchmen for TV kitchen gimmicks but I was. A very good book for when you want to read something short but interesting and well written

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Ahead of his time

These articles are so far ahead their time that you wonder what planet Gladwell came from. He is clear, yet scholarly, profound but research based, concise yet detailed.
He is so on target. What other writer, particularly a non-fiction writer, had four books on the best seller list at the same time?

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Compelling

Another very innovative and compelling book from Gladwell. The topics covered are diverse, but the overall point is -- like Gladwell's other books -- to get the reader to think about different topics in an entirely new way. In this regard, Gladwell succeeds. I always learn something new and ultimately, improve my own way of thinking.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

From theBookChubi

I listened to the audiobook and I think that was a good idea. First off, Gladwell has a great vocal quality that can both present information in a neutral tone (avoiding the problem of biasing the reader straight from the start) but is also very animated and really helps bring the information alive. Although the words themselves are what is important, without the additional presentational quality of the author I feel this book may come off as dry or too factual (as opposed to the stated purpose of providing an alternative idea). He takes you along the entire thought process behind the theories and ideas he is writing about so that you aren't simply confronted with the "solution" but get an idea of each step taken to arrive at that conclusion.

Some of the endings are blunt, which may work well for The New Yorker (where the articles were sourced from) but do seem a bit abrupt for a collection of stories in a book. Gladwell is fantastic about bringing each story around full circle and creating a through-line which, rather than sounding like a college paper (as these articles could have been doomed in another author's hands), provide a rich plot which happens to provide valuable information in the mean time. You will learn something even if you don't mean to and in the context of this book that is a positive factor.

All in all this book deserves your attention (it sure managed to capture mine).

Read the full review at: http://thebookchubi.blogspot.com/2009/11/i-hope-i-have-encouraged-people-in.html

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Fascinating and enjoyable read

I devoured this book. And then I had to talk about all of the fascinating, interesting, well written, diverse topics with anyone who would listen. From the history of the Pill to the history of ketchup, to the efficacy of serial killer profiling to the art of the job interview, I learned all sort of things I would not have ever considered otherwise.

Couldn't finish it...

Not my style of book. I couldn't care less about the sub-topics it contained...i might as well have read marketing material about these products...boring!

Not at all what I expected

Not being familiar with Mr. Gladwell's work, I thought this was going to be a light book of anecdotes and stories. It is not. This is a collection of extremely well researched articles on the psychology of a wide range of subjects. If there is an underlying theme to these articles, it is that preconceived notions are almost always wrong. There is a depth of thought in each article to challenge "conventional wisdom" on the subject. This is a thought provoking and engaging read.

Interesting storiesbut unrelated

A good book if you have short time periiods to read since there are natural stopping pponts

Gladwell strikes again

Another set of thought provoking essays from Gladwell. He challenges conventional wisdom with the banal - why there's only one popular brand of ketchup - to the consequential - could the intelligence prior to 9/11 have really led to prevention or is it only seemingly transparent in hindsight? And all but one (oddly enough the lead story) were compelling reads.

Best Gladwell book to date.

I've read all of Gladwell's books, and this is easily his best one to date. While all of his books provide unique insight into the human condition this book really stands out. 'What the dog saw' is laser focused in the specifics, and doesn't suffer from the often repetitive references that often slowed the first books. With that being said it's hard to criticize the lack of continuity; so what I'll say instead that it would have been nice to read part or section summaries. It seemed as if the parts were driving to a point, but that goal wasn't always clearly stated. I will defintely have to reread many of the sections; which may have been the goal. :) All in all although, a great read and highly recommended.

smart and insightful

a great addition to his collection of smart, perceptive human studies.

Compelling and thought provoking.

This books offers new perspectives on a myriad of topics, pick your favorite! A great read for provoking intellectual conversation.

Wonderfully Informative held my attention!

I bought this as an audio book and thoroughly enjoyed listening to it read by the author. It has so much indepth information into inventions, and indepth knowledge he shared about so many interesting people and topics. He chose so many people who influenced our lives but we don't hear much about their background and what brough them to their inventions. It was interesting from beginning to end! The author is a wonderful reader and really brought life into his book. I highly recommend this book. The title intrigued me. When he talks about the TV personality, The Dog Whisperer then I knew where this title came from. Everyone I have lent this book to has also loved it, and it is a good conversation topic book.

Sheer Brilliance

I can only stutter when trying to describe how incredibly fascinating this book was because I can't get the compliments out fast enough. A compilation of Gladwell's New Yorker articles that touch on a range of subjects. Only Malcolm Gladwell can explain the do's and don't's of generalizing by comparing dogs and terrorists.

Great read

Started reading this one of Gladwell after I finished The Outliers. To be honest, this is not as good as The Outliers, but in general it provides a very good view using the articles of Gladwell. It is evident that research was exceptionally well done and the construction of the articles were fascinating. Not all articles may be of interest for a general reader and this completeness may be the only missing essence in the book.