Malcolm Gladwell turns his reporter’s eye to the overlooked and the overanalyzed in What the Dog Saw, a collection of his most memorable New Yorker essays. Whether he’s unpacking Cesar Millan’s almost telepathic bond with dogs, the marketing genius behind ketchup, or the psychology of choking under pressure, Gladwell’s theme is constant: we misunderstand the world not because we lack information, but because we frame it the wrong way.

He distinguishes “puzzles,” where data are missing, from “mysteries,” where data overwhelm us—and shows how the same misperceptions shape business, policy, and personal judgment alike. Through portraits of inventors, marketers, and misfits, he reveals how intuition, context, and chance often outweigh design or talent.

Curious and humane, What the Dog Saw teaches readers to see familiar things with fresh eyes—and to question the comforting stories we tell about why success, failure, and genius happen.