This was pretty funny. The concept of his books are pretty cheesy but I think what makes him successful is that he actually writes the books vs. sitting around and poking holes in it.
If Gladwell has any value, it's that he inspires us to imagine ourselves rising above our current limitations. He does for us as adults lusting after career success what books like the Hardy Boys adventures did for us as kids. And maybe we might elevate ourselves by acting out these fantasies in reality.
However, in his article in the latest New Yorker (about the distance runner Alberto Salazar) he steps back from inspiration and embraces the vicarious, voyeuristic nature of his work. After taking us through the vicarious thrill of being so committed to winning that we run through our self-protective mental limits all the way up to the true limits of our bodies, eliminating all slack, he absolves us of responsibility: Salazar's competitive career ended ten years too early; Gladwell himself abandoned competitive running because he couldn't take the pain; we need feel no self-consciousness about failing to follow Salazar's insane example.
The perfect time to read it would be while taking a nice break at work.
I think you nailed it here. This is why I enjoy reading Gladwell - his writing inspires me, and without the fist pumping bravado of motivational speakers.
He's also the man behind http://www.captainexcelsior.com/
and writes the script for this comic: http://www.snowflakescomic.com/
He creates sketch comedy at http://www.smbc-theater.com
Writes the weinerworks blog
has a podcast at http://www.weeklyweinersmith.com/
currently working on a space opera: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/smbctheater/smbc-theater...
also this choose your own adventure book: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/999790007/trial-of-the-c...
And that's only the stuff that I'm aware of