by Art Young

Created on: February 26, 2009   Last Updated: March 02, 2009

Part of the brilliance of Malcolm Gladwell is his uncanny ability to choose provocative ideas to discuss. Subjects that he has analyzed have included the viral effect of ideas and the power of first impressions. These seemingly banal topics have been turned into the international best sellers - "The Tipping Point" and "Blink."

In his latest book, "Outliers: The Story of Success" Gladwell takes on a concept that has been written about since humans began to string words together into sentences. However, his treatment of the factors that go into "success" are completely original. This is NOT another Horatio Alger success story. Not by a long shot.

As Gladwell does in the opening sentences, it's a good idea for the reader to understand the concept of an "outlier." The definition of the word, a noun, is "something that is situated away from or classed differently from a main or related body." It is also "a statistical observation that is markedly different in value from the others in the sample."

It is from these simple definitions that the author begin a fascinating analysis of how and to whom success happens.

Over nine chapters and an epilogue, Gladwell shows that talent and ambition are not powerful enough, in and of themselves, to lead to great success in life. Of course, success is a relative term, but most of us would agree that Mozart, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Robert Oppenheimer and the Beatles were by just about any measure, successful in their chosen fields. The manner by which these successful people "made it" is part of the fascinating story of the book.

The point of "Outliers" is that circumstances, when combined with genius and ambition can lead to unequivocal success. With his gift for story-telling and his rapier wit, Gladwell eviscerates the myth of the self-made man.

Along the way, we readers learn some fascinating trivia. For example, why were the immigrants from Eastern Europe uniquely posed to be successful in the garment industry? And even more perplexing, why did this translate into litigation skills?

Why does the month that a kid is born affect his future in the National Hockey League?

Why are Asian kids better at math than other ethnic groups?

In a similar fashion of the book "Freakonomics" by Steven Levitt, "Outliers" takes the striking patterns of everyday activities and draws elegant conclusions. As a result, there is an overwhelming urge to slap one's forehead and scream "Of course! Why didn't I think of that?"

There are also weird, counterintuitive case examples in the book that defy explanation. For example, why would Chris Langan, with genius level IQ, find himself in a professional "black hole?" Hint: It's all about the circumstances, timing and dumb luck.

After reading "Outliers" most readers will realize that individual merit is not sufficient for success. The kind of success that a Bill Gates or Paul McCartney has realized is a function of many factors, including talent and work ethic, that ultimately they had no control over.

Some have suggested that the conclusions drawn by Gladwell rely on other people's research and that their research methodology might be suspect. This is valid criticism but it does not diminish the overwhelming amount of anecdotal evidence and logic that leads to his conclusions.

In a larger sense, "Outliers" is very egalitarian in its message. The question that Gladwell asks is one that we should all ask ourselves. What would happen if more talented and ambitious kids had the advantages and opportunities of the super successful?

Hopefully, some of these kids will read "Outliers" and then get lucky.

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