Sonic Boom: Globalization at Mach Speed [Hardcover]

Gregg Easterbrook (Author)

Book Description

Release date: December 29, 2009

There are signs the recession is about to end. So what comes next? Growth will resume. But economic uncertainty will worsen, making what comes next not just a boom but a nerve-shattering SONIC BOOM.
 
Gregg Easterbrook – who "writes nothing that is not brilliant" (Chicago Tribune) – is a fount of unconventional wisdom, and over time, he is almost always proven right. Throughout 2008 and 2009, as the global economy was contracting and the experts were panicking, Easterbrook worked on a book saying prosperity is about to make its next big leap. Will he be right again?
 
SONIC BOOM: Globalization at Mach Speed presents three basic insights. First, if you don't like globalization, brace yourself, because globalization has barely started. Easterbrook contends the world is about to become far more globally linked. Second, the next wave of global change will be primarily positive: economic prosperity, knowledge and freedom will increase more in the next 50 years than in all of human history to this point. But before you celebrate, Easterbrook further warns that the next phase of global change is going to drive us crazy. Most things will be good for most people – but nothing will seem certain for anyone.
 
Each SONIC BOOM chapter is based on examples of cities around the world – in the United States, Europe, Russia, China, South America – that represent a significant Sonic Boom trend. With a terrific sense of humor, pitch-perfect reporting and clear, elegant prose, Easterbrook explains why economic recovery is on the horizon but why the next phase of global change will also give everyone one hell of a headache.  Forbes calls Easterbrook "the best writer on complex topics in the United States" and SONIC BOOM will show you why.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Gregg Easterbrook on Sonic Boom

Probably the international recession is ending--so what comes next? A Sonic Boom is what comes next. Dramatic global economy growth is likely to resume, especially in the developing world, where growth is needed most. Prosperity should start back upward. Goods and service will continue getting better and cheaper. That’s the boom part. But job anxiety and economic insecurity will accelerate, too. Even as the global economy recovers, we may not feel especially good, because economic change will keep coming faster. That’s the sonic part. A sonic boom is powerful, but also nerve-shattering.

History teaches that when some crisis interrupts larger trends, as soon as the crisis concludes, the larger trends resume. Before the international economic crisis that began in late 2007, the larger trends were robust global growth and rising economic insecurity. Look for both trends to resume in a Sonic Boom world.

Many aspects of a Sonic Boom world will be wonderful. Faster, cheaper communication; easy global access to information and knowledge; rapid innovation, including for green energy; increasing freedom, especially women’s freedom; greater awareness of other cultures. Women’s freedom will itself double the world’s supply of ideas! And the more we know about each other, the less nations and cultures will fear each other, meaning militarism should decline.

But the same forces bringing about better products at lower prices, and improved communication and cultural exchange, will make jobs less secure. It’s not just autoworkers in Indiana--soon everyone everywhere will feel insecure about his or her source of income, even if the economy is basically fine.

And does globalization drive you crazy? Then brace yourself: globalization has barely gotten started. A decade from now, the world will be far more globally integrated. That’s good (ease of communication, improved understanding of other cultures) and bad (businesses will come into and go out of existences even faster).

Here are some important considerations for the Sonic Boom:

• Network effects are just getting started. You may already be sick of the Internet--but it’s still in infancy. We will soon be more globally linked than today.
• Universal high school must be replaced by universal college. A century ago, school was mandatory until age 16; adjust for rising life expectancy, and school should now be mandatory until age 23. In a technological world, college is far more valuable to a nation than petroleum; the United States needs a sweeping commitment to everyone attending some college.
• The Microsoft Word Test. I typed a misspelling of "Ljubljana" on my laptop, and Word provided the correct spelling. You know where Ljubljana is, don’t you? You’d better--it is becoming an economic player. In the Sonic Boom era, any nation or city whose correct spelling is recognized by Microsoft Word is a place that may cause economic commotion by, oh, tomorrow morning.
• The Super Bowl of Stress. It’s approaching. Stability is the underdog!

A chaotic, raucous, unpredictable, stress-inducing, free, prosperous, well-informed and very smart future is coming. Sonic Boom provides a guide to what to expect--and how to cope.--Gregg Easterbrook

---

From Booklist

Easterbrook is the author of six books and contributing editor to the Atlantic Monthly and the New Republic. In his previous book, The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse (2003), he argued that, by all standards, American life has been getting better and better for generations, and compelled us to utilize our prosperity to improve the lives of the disenfranchised around the world. Here he extends his theory to the now-familiar territory of globalization, showing how since World War II the greatest nations of the world have put more of their resources into economic growth and less into military spending. According to Easterbrook, this has all been fueled by reductions in import tariffs and relaxed trade restrictions. Although the current global downturn puts a chink in the armor of his case, he still claims that the larger trend will continue to put pressure on nations to reduce violent conflict, increase the rights of women, and convert to free-market democracies. Easterbrook’s power of economic positive thinking allows the reader to step back from the gloom and look at the larger picture. --David Siegfried

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 243 pages
• Publisher: Random House (December 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400063957
• ISBN-13: 978-1400063956
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 6.4 x 9.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #772,620 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born in Buffalo, New York, to parents who were naturalized Canadians. I'm a graduate of Colorado College and a lover of the Rocky Mountains region throughout North America. Because my wife was until recently as U.S. foreign service officer, I've lived in countries including Pakistan and Belgium. I wish there was still a little family-owned patisserie in walking distance from my house like there was in Brussels. My character flaw is that I watch too much football.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Caution: May contain information-like substance February 18, 2010

By Jeffrey Phillips VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

As a long time fan of Gregg Easterbrook, I really wanted to like Sonic Boom. After all, it has a catchy title, and the subtitle even rings true (Globalization at Mach Speed). However, much like the articles he writes about the NFL on Tuesday Morning Quarterback, a lot of the book approaches information-like substance but fails to close the deal.

As others have written, I read the entire book and I'm still not sure what a "Sonic Boom" is. It seems to create conditions of significant change, and to happen in may places where growth is occurring rapidly, but I can't say I'd recognize it if I see it. In many of Gregg's articles about football coaches who punt on fourth and one, he claims they are chicken. Well, if you have a major thesis but fail to adequately define it, that seems fairly similar.

Next, the book is written with a lot of interesting insights, specifically based on cities that indicate a trend or a major change. Erie, Pennsylvania is used as an example of a city that boomed when the railroads grew, but failed as the railroads moved to a single track size, which Erie fought. Standing athwart the gates of history and holding back change hasn't worked well historically, and didn't for Erie. But is that news? Silicon Graphics failed to see that the graphics accelerator would simply become part of the operating system and is now headquartered in Chippewa Falls, while Google occupies its original headquarters. Tragic tale? Yes, possibly. Shenzhen China grows from a small fishing village to one of the largest ports in the world. Interesting information, but what to learn from it?

The book is full of interesting stories and ideas that indicate that change is accelerating, and that the shifts don't necessarily have to be bad. Global warming may be good for the arctic tundra near Yakutsk, freeing up minerals and oil deposits. The only problem will be getting all that value to market, considering the lack of physical infrastructure!

At this point in a typical Easterbrook column on football, we'd have an obligatory photo of a cheerleader who'd tell us what she'd take with her to a desert island. One of my favorite responses was "a yacht". No kidding. While this is a fast book to read, it left me trying to figure out if it was a long news article - are you aware of all this interesting change - or a book trying to analyze what all the change means - here's what a sonic boom is and how you can benefit - or a feel good book promising a better tomorrow. I think Easterbrook tried for all three, and failed. Easterbrook went for the all-out blitz (something he castigates football coaches for) when he should have settled for the base defense.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Broad Statements Made Caused Me To Doubt the author June 4, 2010

By Nerd Extraordinaire

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Was really looking forward to this one, but there is such a lack of legitimacy to the bold statements made about both the future and the past that I couldn't take it seriously at any point. If a history professor would go through and remove the painfully obvious weak points, I've love to try it again. It's a disappointment because there are plenty of valid and exciting points made that get drowned by the euphoric statements about the near future and false claims about history. Damn!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Not much substance May 27, 2010

By Skunk Tabby

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

While the book should be a welcome respite of positivity in the current negative economic climate, it lacked substance enough to make the argument for hope feel persuasive. The author never really refutes others' arguments. His idea of a rebuttal is "Maybe, but I doubt it." He uses this phrase repeatedly, which he seems to think is enough. It's not enough for me to be convinced, though. He also doesn't seem to understand that correlation does not equal causation.

There are plenty of interesting tidbits of facts, but the author never adds them up to make an argument. I'm not even sure what he wants to argue for, except maybe that the future will be better than the present. That is almost certainly true in the very long run, but he seems to think the economy will improve instantaneously and spontaneously. So far, the facts are not on his side.