Funny, that jibes with my perception of Taleb as well. He seems a bit smug, and I'm not sure if I'd like him or not if we met in person, but his books still seem valuable and worth reading. I would say that I'm better off for having read both The Black Swan and Fooled by Randomness. Still waiting to get around to reading Anti-Fragile, but it's definitely on the list.
That's exactly my impression of "The Black Swan" and all his newer books. But "Fooled By Randomness", I think, is really good!
I recently read "The Black Swan" which I thought was an important read in spite of how unlikeable I find the author, how long the book is, and how tangled up the ideas are. It felt like a bit of a crazy rant, but worthwhile.
Thanks!