The Tipping Point

　　紐約市 1990 年代中期的犯罪率為什麼突然滑落？一位沒沒無名的小說作家為什麼突然竄升為暢銷書作家？青少年吸菸的風潮為什麼一發不可收拾？《芝麻街》這類電視節目為什麼能夠教導兒童閱讀？李佛（Paul Revere）示警為什麼這麼有效？

　　在這本具有獨創及開拓性的著作中，《紐約客》（The New Yorker）雜誌撰述委員葛拉威爾觀察重大的社會變遷，試圖找出這些變化來得又快又急的原因。他指出，觀念、行為、訊息及產品經常會像傳染病一樣，突然發作蔓延。一位病人可以掀起一場流行性感冒；少數人逃票，或者塗鴨，也可以引爆犯罪風潮；一位滿意的客人也可以口耳相傳後，讓一家新餐館高朋滿座。上述社會流行風潮發動的時候，或者感染到一般大眾的時候，就是所謂的「轉捩點」。今天的很多社會問題本質上就像人類歷史上各種瘟疫一樣，隨時可能因為小小的變數而形勢逆轉，要解決這些問題，關鍵就在於找出這個逆轉點。

　　葛拉威爾特別舉出幾種人，他們是新觀念及新趨勢的天然傳播者，能夠引發口耳相傳的效應。他分析時裝趨勢、吸菸、兒童電視節目、郵購、美國革命時代的歷史，瞭解觀念如何傳染；他也親訪一個宗教團體、一家成功的高科技公司、全世界最厲害的業務員之一，了解如何發動及維繫一場社會流行運動。書中亦舉例說明，只要稍微更動我們週遭的環境，就能引導集體行為向上提升，最有名的例子就是紐約市地下鐵，清除了塗鴨後，犯罪率也大幅下滑。

　　《引爆趨勢》是一本知性的冒險故事，作者熱情洋溢，努力追求新知的力量及快樂。最重要的是，本書是一本針對變遷所成的地圖，其中潛藏一個希望無窮的觀念─只要有創意，加上位置恰當的槓桿，任何人都可以舉起地球。

　　”The Tipping Point contains all the sprightly prose and insight we have come to associate with Malcolm Gladwell’s writing. But in addition, Gladwell manages to make sense of a tantalizing array of research findings. The welcome, if overdue, lesson is that, by acting intentionally and strategically, we can lower crime and disease rates, and otherwise bring about dramatic positive changes in our surroundings.” (-Lisbeth Schorr, Harvard Project on Effective Interventions, and author of Common Purpose: Strengthening Families and Neighborhoods to Rebuild America

　　”The Tipping Point is one of those rare books that changes the way you think about, well, everything. A combination of lucid explanation with vivid (and often funny) real-world examples, the book sets out to explain nothing less than why human beings behave the way they do. And, astonishingly, Malcolm Gladwell had the smarts and panache to pull it off.” (-Jeffrey Toobin, author of A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal that Nearly Brought Down a President

　　”The Primary reason for the historic and rapid declines in crime and disorder in the subways and on the streets of New York City in the early 1990s was police activity. Police focused their activities on controlling illegal behavior to such an extent that they changed that behavior. Malcolm Gladwell’s book and its theories, particularly the ’Power of Context,’ clearly describes how crime and disorder were rapidly ’tipped.’ It is a vital and ’must read’ addition to the on-going debate about what really causes crime and disorder and how best to deal with it.” —Commissioner William J. Bratton

　　”Hip and hopeful, The Tipping Point, is like the idea it describes: concise, elegant but packed with social power. A book for anyone who cares about how society works and how we can make it better.” —George Stephanopoulos

　　”What someone once said about the great Edmund Wilson is as true of Malcolm Gladwell: he gives ideas the quality of action. Here he’s written a wonderful page turner about a fascinating idea that should effect the way every thinking person thinks about the world around him.” —Michael Lewis Author of Liar’s Poker and The New New Thing

　　中譯版由時報出版。

作者簡介

葛拉威爾（Malcolm Gladwell）

　　1963年生於英國，在加拿大成長，1984年畢業於多倫多大學歷史學系，1987年至1996年間擔任《華盛頓郵報》記者，縱橫科技領域，後來升任紐約市分社主任。現任《紐約客》（The New Yorker）雜誌撰述委員。葛拉威爾善於分析生活中一些難以表述，卻無所不在的現象。2000年首部著作《引爆趨勢》試圖解讀外在世界的變化，一出版隨即登上《紐約時報》暢銷書榜第一名，獲得美國《商業週刊》、《財星》雜誌等極度好評，「引爆趨勢」一詞更成為商業界一再傳頌和強調的觀念。2005年新作《決斷2秒間》轉而分析內在世界的運作，同樣高踞書榜第一名，再度引起廣大迴響。