Everyone knows the story of David and Goliath. It’s a pretty simple story of a young boy who won a battle that he never should have won. But in “David and Goliath” Malcolm Gladwell points out the flaws in this story, which isn’t that it’s impossible it’s that it wasn’t exceptional that he won the battle, but exceptional that he choose to fight.

If you understand ancient warfare then the outcome should actually be obvious. A slinger, which is what David was, is the natural counter to a foot soldier which is what Goliath is. A good slinger is able to throw a rock with roughly the same accuracy as someone shooting a gun and knocking someone unconscious with a well aimed shot isn’t an unlikely outcome.

And that is the core of the entire book of David and Goliath. The understanding that the things we assume are strengths are sometimes weaknesses and the things we assume are weaknesses can often be strengths.

He reinforces this understanding with stories of success and failure. He shows people who won despite the odds and explains why the odds were never as bad as they seemed and then shows people who failed and explains why they failed, though with a grace and kindness that never makes them seem like failures.

There are a handful of books that I would recommend that everyone no matter their circumstances read and rarely to I do so because they are entertaining, though a good book can be both entertaining and important. Instead they are books that make you see the world in a more useful way. And whether you are Goliath or David it is important that you read David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell because it is vital that you understand the advantages and disadvantages of where you are and learn to take advantage of it.