Introduction and Chapter One

The author Malcolm Gladwell talks about the idea of an epidemic and how it takes more then a few people to cause this to happen. He explains the idea of an epidemic spreading using Hush Puppies. A few people started wearing these shoes, others in their community saw them, and soon it spread all over the country. He also talks about an outbreak with Syphilis in the city of Baltimore and how it was much more then the spread of a disease. It included drugs, and the slow deterioration of health services in the less fortunate parts of the city. At one point, people who should have only had this disease for a week had it for weeks on end, spreading it throughout the city. He concludes his chapter by reviewing the three rules of the Tipping Point, and gives a small clue as to what will happen in the next chapter.