Gladwell gives his take on achievement

“Outliers: The Story of Success,”

by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown and Co., 320 pages, $27.99)

If the old saw is that you should always remember where you came from, Malcolm Gladwell has an addendum: Don’t just remember it – study it.

Gladwell’s new book, “Outliers: The Story of Success,” presents a provocative thesis on achievement: The best and brightest, he posits, are blessed with a bit of God-given talent.

Their success is ultimately a product of their surroundings – their cultures’ idiosyncrasies, their religion, their school’s access to technology.

“Outliers” presents the newest Big Theory from Gladwell, filled with the same trademark mirth and telling anecdotes that propelled “Blink” and “The Tipping Point” to best-seller lists.

In one of dozens of outstanding anecdotes Gladwell uses to buffet his case, he cites a test given to two British school students, Poole and Florence. They are told of two objects – a brick and a blanket – and asked to list as many possible uses.

Poole produces a vivid, even puckish list. (For blanket he lists as one use, “As a target for shooting practice for shortsighted people.”) Florence’s list fails to move beyond the obvious.

This, Gladwell writes, is one small illustration of the folly in projecting achievement by looking at an academic scorecard. Florence is the prodigy of his school; Poole’s IQ lags, but he is smart enough. He meets a threshold that all very successful people must, and his creativity projects much more potential.

If there is a complaint here, it is that Gladwell is too good, too slick in making his case. Similar complaints arose about both “Blink” and “The Tipping Point.” This is the blessing and the curse of Gladwell’s art: He can be so convincing that he leaves a reader wondering if things are a bit too pat.

This, though, is hardly a disqualifier. “Outliers” is high on entertainment value (the successes of everyone from the Beatles to Canadian hockey players are explored), and Gladwell’s work is consistently tough to put down.

Aspiring writers may want to learn more about where he came from.