I agree, and further I think of books like Gladwell's as a kind of summary with pointers to deeper reading by following up with the references. I don't really

I agree, and further I think of books like Gladwell's as a kind of summary with pointers to deeper reading by following up with the references. I don't really expect one book to be the final answer on a topic. In particular, if you do look up the references in a book (even just in a cursory manner) you may be surprised to find that you don't think they support the author's interpretation. In short, if Gladwell did supply more density or detail, it wouldn't really make his interpretation more right. It might seem to strengthen it in some peoples eyes, but that is an illusion.