Book Review: David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants is the second book I have read from Malcolm Gladwell. The first being Outliers: The Story of Success. I am a fan of his writing. He uses a lot of storytelling to get his point across. David and Goliath is about the concept that bigger may not necessarily be better.

David and Goliath begins, well, with the story of David and Goliath. Everyone naturally assumed that Goliath would be the victor, when in reality, as Gladwell points out, David should have been the favorite going into the fight. David’s tactics, weapons, and speed could outperform what Goliath was bringing to the table. This story set the stage for what was to follow.

David and Goliath is 327 pages long divided into three parts and nine chapters. The parts and chapters include:

• Part 1: The advantages of disadvantages (and the disadvantages of advantages)
  • Vivek Ranadivé
  • Teresa DeBrito
  • Caroline Sacks
• Part 2: The theory of desirable difficulty
  • David Boies
  • Emil “Jay” Freireich
  • Wyatt Walker
• Part 3: The limits of power
  • Rosemary Lawlor
  • Wilma Derksen
  • André Trocmé
  • Konrad Kellen

Each chapter has an overarching theme stitched together with a story quilt. Within each chapter, there are six to eight short stories that help to lead the narrative. Gladwell is extremely adept at breaking complex ideas into simple thoughts.

In David and Goliath, Gladwell tells countless stories of the little guy overcoming great odds. The individuals in the story may succeed through agility, cleverness, or sheer determination.

For example, Vivek Ranadivé knew nothing about basketball but coached his daughter’s National Junior Basketball team to victory after victory. Ranadivé realized that his girls were not skilled. His team won because they became basketball rule scholars and played the game differently than how it was traditionally played. They turned their weakness into a strength.

The chapters about DeBrito and Sacks were interesting to me because they focused on education. Everyone assumes that a small classroom is better for learning. In the DeBrito chapter, I learned that as classroom sizes get smaller, learning is hampered because the ability to hold meaningful conversations are diminished. The Sacks chapter is a case of a big fish in a little pond versus a little fish in a big pond. Going to a prestigious university does not necessarily result in better learning. Because the competition is so great, an excellent student may feel mediocre compared to others and give up on their passion.

Emil “Jay” Freireich was able to turn the tide against childhood Leukemia because he fought against widely accepted medical practices. He was ridiculed all along his journey but save countless lives in the end.

Wyatt Walker, Rosemary Lawlor, and André Trocmé all fought oppression. Trocmé opposed the Nazis in WWII. Walker was a key player in the civil rights movement in segregated Alabama. Lawlor was involved with the “Troubles” of Northern Ireland. In each case, they stood up to immoral behavior that was the status quo. I am amazed that throughout history people would actively support and enforce immoral behavior such as the oppression of others. I am glad that brave people like those included in this book had the courage to stand up and resist.

I think David and Goliath reminds us to take a moment to truly think about what is happening around us and do the right things. These things may be in the face of giant establishments. Like Jack Hoban noted in his book, The Ethical Warrior, we have to tune our moral compass and do what is the harder right. Our world needs more people to speak out against injustice.

Additional Reading

• Book Review: Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
• Book Review: Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know

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