Book Review: What the Dog Saw

Finished reading “What the dog saw” and in this brilliant & provocative book, covering everything from criminology to ketchup, job interviews to dog training, Malcolm Gladwell shows the most ordinary subjects can illuminate the most extraordinary things about us and our world. Looking under the surface of the seemingly mundane, he explores the underdogs, the miraculous and disastrous and reveals how everyone and everything contains an incredible story.

This book is a series of 19 short stories that each addresses a different question or issue. What’s the difference between choking and panicking? Why are there tons of varieties of mustard but only one type of ketchup? It turns out that different people like different levels of sweetness and bitterness, so we see twelve varieties of marinara sauce on the supermarket shelf, and another dozen flavors of soft drinks on the market.

How do you know whom to hire? Does intelligence really matter once you get away from college? What does hair dye have to do with Feminism? He talks about what makes a good salesman. It’s not just the ability to ask for the money. There needs to be an engaging, interesting presentation that draws the audience in. Gladwell discusses the difference between mystery and puzzle, and between the two types of serial killers. He keeps readers on their toes with unlikely comparisons and his unique points of view.

Another story takes a look at the homelessness problem, and we discover how one homeless man cost his city over one million dollars. How can a group of sane people get admitted to mental hospitals, and kept there for weeks even though their symptoms have subsided? And what does that have to do with gathering intelligence? Was Picasso a genius, a late bloomer or neither? What makes someone good at something, and what do they become recognized as great? Gladwell answers all these questions and more in his book.