Malcolm Gladwell Live: The David and Goliath Tour, Lyceum Theatre

Rock stars make more money from live performance than sales of their songs. Now it’s the turn of authors. Malcolm Gladwell, the current superstar of popular non-fiction, is doing a three-gig tour (London, Liverpool, Dublin). Whilst its title might not be up there with a Bowie or Stones event, tickets for The David & Goliath Tourwill be sought after.

Gladwell, once voted one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, has four New York Times bestsellers to his name: The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers and What the Dog Saw. He is credited with originality, overturning conventional thinking by deconstructing our understanding of fundamental human tendencies and reconnecting the dots in a way no-one else can.

If you are interested in Gladwell’s upcoming tour, which ties in with his new book: David & Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants (Allen Lane) published on 3 October, get on and book now as his live shows sell out several times over. Gladwell has proven calibre as a skilled public performer and his argument  that apparent disadvantages – attending an average school, childhood trauma, disability – can in fact be just the reverse, is persuasive. Whilst his theories may not always stand up to scientific scrutiny, there is no question that his books have built a platform for him as an authority in the public mind. A journalist and entertainer first, scientist second, his tour promises to win round his audience with a witty and engaging rendition of his “new thinking”, as well break new ground in terms of the way popular authors reach their public.