Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell

“It’s hard to talk to strangers because…read the book”

Overview: Talking to Strangers is an elaboration of a simple (trivial?) idea: It’s very difficult to tell when people are lying.

This was the first book I've read by Gladwell and I can see now why he has become something of a pop-nonfiction writer because he definitely knows how to capture your attention. It's got some psychology, a bit of anthropology, a touch of politics, a dash of espionage — what's not to like?

Gladwell extensively used well-known cases that show that when dealing with people we do not know, we are not always the best judges of their character. Examples of this vary from Hitler to the Amanda Knox case in Italy and many others. Subjects dealt with include spying, child sexual abuse, bigotry, prejudice, financial dishonesty, etc. This book proves again that Malcolm Gladwell is an astute observer of the society we live in. I thought the subject matter was interesting and the research well done. Highly recommended if you enjoy studying human nature.

In the end, though, he brings all this information, all these studies, and examples together to leave us with an idea that is nothing new, but that I think we are all too quick to forget: people are more complex than they first appear. Don’t judge a book by its cover, if you will.