"Quiet - The Power of Introverts" by Susan Cain

Living as the silent type in a world that promotes the contrary can not only be inconvenient, it can be downright depressing at times. The world we live in was tailored for extroverts, people who would rather speak than listen. Those who prefer to listen are instead branded as shy and usually cast aside, and end up forcing themselves to act in a way that is contrary to what they really want.

However, as was pointed out by Susan Cain in her book titled Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, the truth is that without introverts the world would be deprived of many great inventions, including the theories of gravity, relativity, as well as Google… and that’s just for starters.

Susan Cain’s book is basically one which aims to bring a message to the world that says introverts are needed just as much as extroverts, yet the current social values place extroverts far above introverts. She takes the time to look into what she refers to as the “extrovert ideal”, or in other terms, the fact that today’s society emphasizes extroverts rather than introverts.

Cain shares her belief that introverts are often underestimated and remain a source of untapped knowledge that may never be opened due to social prejudice. She takes the time to bring you the stories of a great number of introverts that have truly changed the course of history. What’s more, contrary to what many were surely expecting, many of those stories don’t come from known people; rather, they originate from interviews Cain conducted with people who are affected, one way or another, by being introverts in modern society.

Also, she takes the time to introduce modern-day introverts such as a public speaker and a record-breaking salesman who have found great success. She attempts to demonstrate that taking the right approach is the key for introverts to succeed in this world, and that they are given both advantages and disadvantages by virtue of their nature, just like everyone else.

All in all, this book aims to change the way in which introverts are perceived in society, and more importantly, how introverts perceive themselves to be. It provides a different outlook on things, breaking prejudices and pre-conceptions we have been following for all too long at this point. Being an introvert is far from being a curse… rather, it is a gift for those who know how to use it.

If you are interested in learning about introverts or consider yourself to be one and would like to know this state of being better, then I definitely recommend you check this book… the findings within may surprise you, and perhaps even change the way you perceive life.

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Susan Cain Personal site Susan Horowitz Cain is an American writer and lecturer, and she is most known for her non-fiction books wherein she explores the fringe aspects of society from another perspective. This can most notably be seen in her most widely-acclaimed work, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking.