I'd like to contrast Gladwell's style with that of a writer that I admire—Paul Graham. Graham gives you the most clear possible explanation of a point by being

I'd like to contrast Gladwell's style with that of a writer that I admire—Paul Graham. Graham gives you the most clear possible explanation of a point by being concise, writing in the form of essays that concentrate on a single (sometimes blunt) topic. Even though his essays are short, they never come across to me as "dense." I think that's because he doesn't lose focus or go on tangents. He will often use a short analogy instead of a long story. Graham is always talking about how important it is to spend most of your editing time removing content. A rule that has stuck with me. Gladwell packs as much story and detail density into as little space as possible to keep you engaged for book length exposition. It might sell books and enthrall, but ultimately it's unnecessary and inelegant from a "let's get the idea across quickly" perspective. To be fair, Graham is writing about very different subjects, so the comparison may not be just.