Paperback: The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

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For once, a book on human behaviour that is readable and jargon-free. Gladwell's thesis is that individuals can make a disproportionate impact at the "tipping point", where a trend or change in behaviour suddenly spreads. On a micro level, yawning is notoriously infectious. More profound changes can be good, such as the sudden drop in crime in New York, or bad, like the air steward linked to 40 Aids cases. Gladwell explores social epidemics ranging from suicide and smoking to the 1995 revival of Hush Puppies in the US.