The Tipping Point

Malcolm Gladwell · first published 2000 · ISBN 9780316346627

Gladwell argues that social epidemics follow predictable patterns: that trends and behaviors spread through society not gradually, but in sudden moments when momentum tips. He traces how graffiti reduction changed New York City, how word-of-mouth marketing works, and how three kinds of people (connectors, mavens, salesmen) drive contagion. The book rests on the 'broken windows theory' of policing and introduces concepts like the 'Law of the Few' and the 'Stickiness Factor.'