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The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/all/20060325184833/http://www.whatbooks.com/2005/world_flat.php
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
by Authors:
Thomas L. Friedman, Oliver Wyman
Hardcover Description:
Thomas L. Friedman is not so much a futurist, which he is sometimes called, as a presentist. His aim, in his new book, The World Is Flat, as in his earlier, influential Lexus and the Olive Tree, is not to give you a speculative preview of the wonders that are sure to come in your lifetime, but rather to get you caught up on the wonders that are already here. The world isn't going to be flat, it is flat, which gives Friedman's breathless narrative much of its urgency, and which also saves it from the Epcot-style polyester sheen that futurists--the optimistic ones at least--are inevitably prey to.
What Friedman means by "flat" is "connected": the lowering of trade and political barriers and the exponential technical advances of the digital revolution have made it possible to do business, or almost anything else, instantaneously with billions of other people across the planet. This in itself should not be news to anyone. But the news that Friedman has to deliver is that just when we stopped paying attention to these developments--when the dot-com bust turned interest away from the business and technology pages and when 9/11 and the Iraq War turned all eyes toward the Middle East--is when they actually began to accelerate. Globalization 3.0, as he calls it, is driven not by major corporations or giant trade organizations like the World Bank, but by individuals: desktop freelancers and innovative startups all over the world (but especially in India and China) who can compete--and win--not just for low-wage manufacturing and information labor but, increasingly, for the highest-end research and design work as well. (He doesn't forget the "mutant supply chains" like Al-Qaeda that let the small act big in more destructive ways.) Friedman tells his eye-opening story with the catchy slogans and globe-hopping anecdotes that readers of his earlier books and his New York Times columns will know well, and also with a stern sort of optimism. He wants to tell you how exciting this new world is, but he also wants you to know you're going to be trampled if you don't keep up with it. His book is an excellent place to begin. --Tom Nissley
Where Were You When the World Went Flat?
Thomas L. Friedman's reporter's curiosity and his ability to recognize the patterns behind the most complex global developments have made him one of the most entertaining and authoritative sources for information about the wider world we live in, both as the foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times and as the author of landmark books like From Beirut to Jerusalem and The Lexus and the Olive Tree. They also make him an endlessly fascinating conversation partner, and we'd happily have peppered him with questions about The World Is Flat for hours. Read our interview to learn why there's almost no one from Washington, D.C., listed in the index of a book about the global economy, and what his one-plank platform for president would be. (Hint: his bumper stickers would say, "Can You Hear Me Now?")
The Essential Tom Friedman
From Beirut to Jerusalem
The Lexus and the Olive Tree
Longitudes and Attitudes
More on Globalization and Development
China, Inc. by Ted Fishman
Three Billion New Capitalists by Clyde Prestowitz
The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs
Globalization and Its Discontents by Joseph Stiglitz
The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy by Pietra Rivoli
The Mystery of Capital by Hernando de Soto
Average Customer Rating:
Not impressed
I only made it half way through the book, got disgusted, and quit reading it. The author positively gushes about how great outsourcing to India and China is. Maybe when journalism (his job) is outsourced to India his opinion of outsourcing will change.
If You're Just Reading This, You're a Few Years Behind the 8 Ball
Friedman has given a first hand observation and recommendations for the state of global business. Many of us were too afraid to look and now a good portion of us are complaining that its happening to us. Its not republican or democratic...its fact. If you're just getting to reading it, you're a few years behind the 8 ball. Still, I highly recommend this book for its value in educating the next generation on world finance and its local affect.
I also highly recommend as a companion book,
THE BLACK BOOK OF OUTSOURCING (by Brown & Wilson, Wiley Books, 2006) for its ability to make action items out for you on what Friedman explains. It will make your next ten years in the business place more manageable and enlightened. Good Luck!
Great Book, but probably 10 Years Late
I loved this book. At the very least it makes you think about the current global economy and how you will fit in it. I highly recommend the book, especially for those under 40 years of age.
My only gripe is not with the book or the author, but the older people in this country (not the elderly), the baby boom generation. This book really highlights how this generation has really left this country in big trouble as far its debt, competitiveness, and the values it has passed on to its children.
I was on a panel at this legislative summit and a Texas State Senator (not national, but state) preached to the members of my generation essentially telling us that the reason America is losing its competitiveness is b/c of us. Does that make sense? I always thought children did more of what their parents did than what they say. Unfortunately in this situation what the parents said and did were the same, until now of course, and until they read this book.
He went on and on about how we should be majoring in math and science (the audience is majority college students, we're going to all of a sudden change our interests?). Despite the fact that he is a lawyer and is not contributing in anyway towards improving America's competitiveness. I think he wants us to take one for the team.
This is simply a random vent on my part (I'm 21 years old), but it's wack how somebody reads a book, makes immediate conclusions, and then points the finger at the one generation in this country that has and has had no power or influence; this is from a leader in the State of Texas no less (where's the personal accountability among politicians). How did I make the connection to this book you might ask; well immediately after his sermon he read a list of books for us to read and this was the first one mentioned.
With all that random stuff said. The book is great, and I suppose it's better late than never; also, as with all books, read with an open mind and if you disagree do your own research. Great reading!!!
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