Talking to Strangers

4.5 stars. Of the non-fiction books I've read in recent memory none of them have challenged the way I perceive fellow humans like this book. Gladwell, after a string of racially fuelled incidents between law and enforcement personnel and civilians roughly between 2014 and 2016, reached his own tipping point and began to wonder how we as individuals approach, judge, and assume the intentions of strangers; folks we know absolutely nothing about. Through a great collection of historical ponderings, psychological inquiry, and modern day stories from the US and abroad, I was taken on a full-blown expedition of how rash thinking can ensnare the humane side of humanity. I felt my own mind, at times, getting defensive at some of the conclusions he was making, which is usually a telltale sign (for me at least) of a long-forged conclusion getting nudged into a new line of thinking. I thank this book for that, and feel compelled to broaden my senses for the better as I live alongside folks I too quickly place in a box.