That plus his howler about "Igon Value."
A good storyteller, yes, but that is the limit.
But yes: I don't have any faith in Gladwell's reporting. I just think he's a supremely effective writer, and that's interesting to me. He is, like, the Yngwie Malmsteen of his profession, maybe.
If you are going to look for excellent storytellers, I suggest Jerzy Kosiński, whose Painted Bird is a autobiography, that is pretty much known to be false, (but true in some sense) and probably not written by him. His books are far more interesting than anything Gladwell wrote.
Gladwell once said "If you don't like my writing, don't read it" (not sure if this quote is exact) or equivalent. I'm likely to go one better and recommend that friends don't read it as well.
If you are looking for compelling not-true but claimed-to-be-true, also consider Carlos Castañeda.
There is a comparison I would have never expected.
Course, maybe not using an obscure hair-band reference would be better.
Like, what's the Gladwell equivalent of Yngwie as a youth getting kicked out of a band for trying to kill Graham Bonnet? Make something up. I bet it involves assaulting an editor! What's the fictional equivalent of Yngwie deciding he should sing? I bet it involves Gladwell deciding he doesn't need to talk to anyone who understands mathematics. Or maybe you could break the fourth wall and have Yngwie decide he is fully capable of playing Gladwell in the film, since how hard it can it possibly be, and he's already halfway there since they both have stupid hair.
You had me at "decide to sing" = "doesn't need to talk to anyone who understands mathematics".
I admire a person so deranged they think Yngwie breaking the fourth wall is a "maybe".