The World Is Flat [Further Updated and Expanded; Release 3.0]: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century [Hardcover]

Thomas L. Friedman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 7, 2007

The World Is Flat is Thomas L. Friedman's account of the great changes taking place in our time, as lightning-swift advances in technology and communications put people all over the globe in touch as never before--creating an explosion of wealth in India and China, and challenging the rest of us to run even faster just to stay in place. This updated and expanded edition features more than a hundred pages of fresh reporting and commentary, drawn from Friedman's travels around the world and across the American heartland--from anyplace where the flattening of the world is being felt.
In The World Is Flat, Friedman at once shows "how and why globalization has now shifted into warp drive" (Robert Wright, Slate) and brilliantly demystifies the new flat world for readers, allowing them to make sense of the often bewildering scene unfolding before their eyes. With his inimitable ability to translate complex foreign policy and economic issues, he explains how the flattening of the world happened at the dawn of the twenty-first century; what it means to countries, companies, communities, and individuals; how governments and societies can, and must, adapt; and why terrorists want to stand in the way. More than ever, The World Is Flat is an essential update on globalization, its successes and discontents, powerfully illuminated by one of our most respected journalists.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Captivating . . . an enthralling read. To his great credit, Friedman embraces much of his flat world's complexity, and his reporting brings to vibrant life some beguiling characters and trends. . . . [The World is Flat] is also more lively, provocative, and sophisticated than the overwhelming bulk of foreign policy commentary these days. We've no real idea how the twenty-first century's history will unfold, but this terrifically stimulating book will certainly inspire readers to start thinking it all through."--Warren Bass, The Washington Post

 

"Nicely sums up the explosion of digital-technology advances during the past fifteen years and places the phenomenon in its global context. . . . Friedman never shrinks from the biggest problems and the thorniest issues."--Paul Magnusson, BusinessWeek

 

"[This book's] insight is true and deeply important. . . . The metaphor of a flat world, used by Friedman to describe the next phase of globalization, is ingenious."--Fareed Zakaria, The New York Times Book Review (front cover review)

 

"A brilliant, instantly clarifying metaphor for the latest, arguably the most profound conceptual mega-shift to rock the world in living memory."--David Ticoll, The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

 

"No one today chronicles global shifts in simple and practical terms quite like Friedman. He plucks insights from his travels and the published press that can leave you spinning like a top. Or rather, a pancake."--Clayton Jones, The Christian Science Monitor

 

"[The World is Flat] is filled with the kind of close reporting and intimate yet accessible analysis that have been hard to come by. Add in Friedman's winning first-person interjections and masterful use of strategic wonksterisms, and this book should end up on the front seats of quite a few Lexuses and SUVs of all stripes."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

"One mark of a great book is that it makes you see things in a new way, and Mr. Friedman certainly succeeds in that goal," the Nobel laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz wrote in The New York Times, reviewing The World Is Flat in 2005. For this updated and expanded edition, Friedman has seen his own book in a new way, bringing fresh stories and insights to help us understand the flattening of the world. New material includes:

• The reasons why the flattening of the world "will be seen in time as one of those fundamental shifts or inflection points, like Gutenberg's invention of the printing press, the rise of the nation-state, or the Industrial Revolution"

• An explanation of "uploading" as one of the ten forces that are flattening the world, as blogging, open-source software, pooled knowledge projects like Wikipedia, and podcasting enable individuals to bring their experiences and opinions to the whole world

• A mapping of the New Middle--the places and spaces in the flat world where
middle-class jobs will be found--and portraits of the character types who will find success as New Middlers

•An account of the qualities American parents and teachers need to cultivate in young people so that they will be able to thrive in the flat world

•A call for a government-led "geo-green" strategy to preserve the environment and natural resources

•An account of the "globalization of the local": how the flattening of the world is actually strengthening local and regional identities rather than homogenizing the world

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 672 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 3rd edition (August 7, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374292787
• ISBN-13: 978-0374292782
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (206 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #460,299 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Thomas L. Friedman has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize three times for his work with The New York Times, where he serves as the foreign affairs columnist. Read by everyone from small-business owners to President Obama, Hot, Flat, and Crowded was an international bestseller in hardcover. Friedman is also the author of From Beirut to Jerusalem (1989), The Lexus and the Olive Tree (1999), Longitudes and Attitudes (2002), and The World is Flat (2005). He lives in Bethesda, Maryland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This book will make you think about today's most important topic, September 12, 2007

By 

A Reader from Chicago (Windy City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century (Paperback)

No doubt, Friedman will get you thinking.

You may end up thinking Friedman has really informed you on what this grand notion of "globalization" is all about. His book has reached millions, including leaders in business government and education, many who now feel fully informed on the subject.

But, just stop to consider his "base assumptions," the 10 so-called flatteners. Most aren't new at all and some fundamental flatteners such as containerized shipping aren't mentioned at all (see The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger). (nevermind the consequences when the end of cheap eneregy flattens the global logistics routes)

So, go ahead and read this book, but when you are finished, and especially if you are awed, I'd suggest you consider reading Aronica and Ramdoo's critical analysis of Friedman's book. It just could make you "think again," even about those so-called 10 flatteners.

The World Is Flat?: A Critical Analysis of New York Times Bestseller by Thomas Friedman

Aronica and Ramdoo will also point you to the true thought leaders on globalization, and summarize their take on Friedman's book: Stiglitz (Nobel Prize in economics), Baghwati(Columbia Professor), Prestowitz (Presidential Trade Advisor), Lemer (UCLA Professor), Ghemawat (Harvard Professor), Roach (Chief Economist at Morgan Stanley), Palast (Investigative Reporter, UK)and others.

So, thank Friedman for an entertaining read, and using his status as a celebrity pundit for making us all aware of the great reorganization the world is going through. But, please don't stop there, for there is far more to the unfolding story of globalization, and all of us are being affected.

29 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rounding Out Your Right-Brain in a Flattening World, March 3, 2008

By 

A Reader (Montclair, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century (Paperback)

Our world has come a long way, not just since the proverbial "beginning of time," but in the last 20, 10, 5 and even 3 years since this book was first published. In "The World is Flat," Thomas Friedman very consciensiously and enthusiastically paints a picture of the detailed landscape of the current world through the eyes of business, technology, cultural and social development. I have traditionally found the topics of globalization, outsourcing and economics dry and rather boring, but the author brings them to life and makes them relevant to each of our lives in a way that is truly captivating. There are countless examples of this in the book, from the impact of the usage of the personal computer to a creative lemonade salesman at a baseball game to Big Macs vs. pizza.

This book filled me with ideas, thoughts and concepts that I had never before imagined and I came away excited about the possibilities that exist in my own hands. I was really struck by the conversation about the urgent value for Americans to exercise their right brain: to do what you love, to invent, create, relate, express, empathize. The point Friedman emphasizes is: "Now that foreigners can do left-brain work cheaper, we in the U.S. must do right-brain work better." This idea made me think of two other authors, Ariel & Shya Kane, who have had a huge effect on how I relate to my life and approach my personal well-being, and whose books also introduced concepts that also completely blew my mind.

The Kanes' technology of Instantaneous Transformation, the phenomenon that occurs when you are truly present and directly engaged in your life and causes problems, stress, worry & fear to dissolve, is another contributor to the flattening of the world. They address the gap between the things that we do, learn and know and what it means to truly 'be': certainly a skill unique to each person in the world. If you enjoy "The World is Flat," check out the Kanes' books, Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment and How To Create a Magical Relationship. I HIGHLY recommend them all!

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Long winded, very very long winded, October 21, 2008

By 

M. Rowell (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century (Paperback)

I am surprised by how many reviewers described this book as "well written." I found it extremely wordy. The content to word ratio here is extremely low. The ideas in this book could have (and should have) been expressed in 150 pages or less. Instead Friedman drones on for close to 600 pages. The extreme length would have been justified if the book had gone into detail about certain topics or provided more rigorous analysis of different points of view. Instead its 600 pages of high level fluff. Does anyone really need a 600 page tome to tell them we are doing a lot of business with India? Is making a point concisely a lost art? Was Friedman paid by the word? Can I find an Indian gentleman to write me an executive summary of this leviathan?