That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back by Thomas L. Friedman

Oct 20, 2011 Delway Burton rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A perceptive and informative book, while at the same time frightening. Tom Friedman (forget his liberal bent) is a rational and broad-based writer. His access to sources is unique and he is a keen observer, mixing both statistics and anecdotes. If anything he should be faulted for what he leaves out. The book is an analysis of how the good old USA got into this mess. Firstly this is not the first time the nation has been threatened. The analysis of the present is discouraging as long term proble...more

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Mar 29, 2013 Ben rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Thomas Friedman has been pushing a consistent thesis for the past several years. Beginning in 1999 with The Lexus and the Olive Tree, Friedman has concluded that a convergence of the IT revolution, global warming, and the clash of ancient and modern cultures has brought about a sort of “tipping point” in modern history – a point in which nations and individuals either get control of globalization or lose control altogether. That Used to Be Us continues Friedman’s themes from his previous works,...more Thomas Friedman has been pushing a consistent thesis for the past several years. Beginning in 1999 with The Lexus and the Olive Tree, Friedman has concluded that a convergence of the IT revolution, global warming, and the clash of ancient and modern cultures has brought about a sort of “tipping point” in modern history – a point in which nations and individuals either get control of globalization or lose control altogether. That Used to Be Us continues Friedman’s themes from his previous works, but incorporates warnings for what the United States needs to do if it is to thrive in the twenty-first century. Partnering with Michael Mandelbaum, a foreign policy professor at John Hopkins University, Friedman and delivers a set of useful policy principles for any American administration.

The basic premise of That Used to Be Us is that the new competitive global economy will ravage America’s national competitiveness unless the government takes quick action. Friedman and Mandelbaum argue that collective action must be applied to repair America’s roads and bridges, its education system, and its impact on the environment. They call for higher taxes and more regulation, but also cuts in current entitlements. If America fails to take the action called for by the authors, it will find itself “losing” the competitive race to countries like China.

While Friedman and Mandelbaum avoid the China scaremongering of other authors, I believe they miss an important point. China has more than four times the population of the United States. Because of this, the country only needs to be one quarter as productive as American in order to surpass it in terms of aggregate GDP. Given the fact that China needs only to import technology from the west to accomplish this, rather than inventing new technologies, this seems inevitable. The question is not if China will surpass the United States in GDP, but when.

That said, the authors do make a good case that America needs to set its policy house in order. The infrastructure in the United States is getting old and nobody doubts our education system is a mess. The country would do well to give some consideration to the authors’ policy proposals, especially those calling for a reduction in out-of-control entitlement spending.
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Oct 12, 2011 Villate rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Some good thoughts about what is and is not working in America, but an awful lot of "kids these days" sort of talk, too. The authors' fetishization of Asia is also troubling. Having worked closely with Asian students for more than 10 years now, I would say that a large proportion of their vaunted higher educational attainment is either purchased or cheated, not earned. That is not to say that we have nothing to learn from Asian methods of pedagogy, or that they are not in fact "beating" us in te...more

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Apr 02, 2012 J.D. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own, favorites, politics-sociology

Let me start by saying that, as a moderate/centrist, I really loved this book! I believe, as the authors do, that neither Democrats are right thinking that the government is the solution to every problem, or that Republicans are right thinking the government is the cause to every problem. The authors are correct in their assertion that we must come together and act collectively, taking the best ideas of both philosophies, if we intend to improve America. The authors nailed it on the head when th...more Let me start by saying that, as a moderate/centrist, I really loved this book! I believe, as the authors do, that neither Democrats are right thinking that the government is the solution to every problem, or that Republicans are right thinking the government is the cause to every problem. The authors are correct in their assertion that we must come together and act collectively, taking the best ideas of both philosophies, if we intend to improve America. The authors nailed it on the head when they they discussed why America is in trouble right now, how we got there, and what we need to do to return it to the best nation in the world--both now and continuing in the years to come. My favorite chapters, personally, are "Ignoring Our History,""Whatever It Is, I'm Against It," and "Homework x 2: The American Dream."

The authors are spot-on when they identified the four major challenges we face--the first two we have a problem grasping and the second two we just plain ignore: globalization, the IT revolution, out-of- control deficit, and excessive energy consumption. Their solution: improvements in education, infrastructure, immigration policy, research and development, and regulation. Reading their book, their outlined solution seemed obvious to me as the best, if not only, sustainable plan to ensuring present and future prosperity for this nation.

Of course, the problem is that Americans today (myself included) are too stupid, ignorant (especially of our past history and logical and mathematical sense), hyper-partisan, greedy, and entitled to do a thing about it. The authors are dead-on when they observe how Americans today think too much about what we want now instead of what we will need later. If we want something, whether it be social security, medicare, better schools, or more jobs, we're going to have to pay for it. Whether it's by ourselves now or our children later, we WILL have to pay. Unfortunately, too many of us have forgotten that making sacrifices in the present, while investing in the future, is the way we've always overcome major challenges in the past.

I personally believe America can be great again. Of course, if we continue to be a nation of idiots who vote hyper-partisan ideologues into office rather than moderate problem solvers; delude ourselves into thinking we can pay for two wars, plus medicare and social security for all retiring baby-boomers, without raising taxes and cutting spending; see education as a social issue rather than an economic one, where it's O.K. if slave-wage earning teachers have lost any motivation to improve their craft and students aren't learning the skills they need to get tomorrow's jobs; believe we're better off addicted to terrorist-funding and earth-polluting oil instead of jumping on the next great market that is clean energy; or lastly, believe every piece of bulls**t. we hear on the internet or Fox News (such as global warming being a myth)--even when it laughs in the face of math, physics, and logic--we are all completely and utterly screwed.(less)

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May 07, 2013 Lisa Houlihan added it · review of another edition

Shelves: nf, hist-soci-cultstud, audio, male

I like the authors' points but the narrator makes me insane. He pronounces "December 17" as "December seventeen" instead of "December seventeenth." Much worse, he pronounces "0.15" as "point fifteen" and so forth with any decimal in the text. This in a book bemoaning the Usan war on math and physics, and even when decimal is "point twenty," no one in the production realized that 0.2 and 0.20 are the same. Also he pronounces the first syllable of "steroids" as "steer" instead of "stare."

I credit...more

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Feb 01, 2013 Scott rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A book that addresses the problems of our political system and offers solutions that are credible. It is a shame that our elected leaders from both parties do not realize the troubled road we are on and that the solutions, although initially painful, will in the long run prop us up for sustained greatness. That is what I want, public servants who have can address the short and long term for our country. I liked the fact that they advocated for third parties to run in order to keep the extremists...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Shaun rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I found this book quite interesting. We all know that our country (the USA) is messed up and our politicians on many levels would rather spend money we don't have to continue along the path of the status quo, rather than make the hard decisions to implement policies to fix our long term problems, because they are more worried about staying in office than making our country better. The authors provide many ideas to fix our problems, but many of their solutions require Democrats and Republicans to...more

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Jan 03, 2013 Mark rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: economics-development, non-fiction, political-thought, business

One the one hand, this is more of the same stuff from Thomas Friedman. A continuation of sorts of what he's been up to for some time, preaching the gospel of globalism and warning America of the dangers of ignoring it.

However, this volume really struck a chord with me. His assertion that America has forgotten it's proven formula for greatness - the "blended" economy of free markets and sensible but necessary Government involvment, especially in education, basic research funding, and financial re...more One the one hand, this is more of the same stuff from Thomas Friedman. A continuation of sorts of what he's been up to for some time, preaching the gospel of globalism and warning America of the dangers of ignoring it.

However, this volume really struck a chord with me. His assertion that America has forgotten it's proven formula for greatness - the "blended" economy of free markets and sensible but necessary Government involvment, especially in education, basic research funding, and financial regulation. He says that we've been at war on math (with our collective political belief at least since the Reagan Administration that debts don't matter), at war on science (with our collective denial and inaction on human impact on climate change) and at war on knowledge (with our collective negligence of the educational system in America). He warns that withouth major course correction in all three broad areas, we have no real hope of recapturing our necessary leadership role in the world.

Politically, he laments that Republicans have sold out to their favored interest groups that are anti-tax to the point of nonsense and that they've determined that debt for tax cuts and military spending is fine but, debt for social spending is bad. Democrats he claims have decided to ignore math in the way they won't even consider entitlement reform even though the current entitlement regimes are unsustainable and were set up in a prior era when people didn't live as long and our demographics were far more favorable (far more young people of working age than retirees drawing benefits). He claims that because the special interests allied with both major parties that we cannot expect congress to address the issues before us effectively.

One of the more interesting calls he makes is for broad support for a third party candidate who raises awareness and enthusiasm for some of the measures that must be taken. Not that a third party candidate can get elected president in our country, but, they could bring enough voters along with them to force the winning party into acting on their initiatives. He named three examples in the past 100 years where this happened. Theodore Roosevelt's unsuccessful third party bid in the early 20th century caused the winning administration to take up most of Roosevelts major agenda items resulting in major policy change. He also pointed out Ross Perot's unsuccessful run in 1992 which nevertheless garnered so much support for deficit reduction that the Clinton administration actually added it to their priorities resulting in sweeping changes and very successful deficit reduction in the 90's. This section made me think of Jon Huntsman in the recent presidential election cycle and how perhaps he could be such a third party challenger with the centrist policy prescriptions that would guarantee his failure with either of the big two parties but, might fuel enough popular support to cause the winning ticket to stand-up, take notice, and address what was obviously popular with a lot of independents.

As much as Friedman is ringing that same old bell, I think he's basically right. I enjoyed this book not because it challenged my assumptions or thinking but, because during the recent national election cycle and the current Gridlock in congress, it's nice to know there are some centrist good ideas out there. It's refreshing to see that despite what the franic 24 hr. news cycle would have us believe, there are commonsense solutions that would likely make good policy if only our politicians weren't owned completely by the special interests and could spend a few weeks deliberating on how best to address the people's business! If only.

However, because this is a book review, I've got to close by saying that I pretty much agree with and appreciate most of the policy prescriptions put forth here (and in all of Friedman's books frankly) and am now suspicious about the situation. I must be missing something and therefore will have to go out and find someone who can articulate the opposition to Friedman's neo-liberal, free market centric globalist cheerleading.(less)

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Dec 07, 2012 Mimi Jones rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My husband and I listened to all 17 hours of this audiobook on a car trip from NY to Chattanooga, TN and back again. In Chattanooga we had the pleasure of hearing Thomas Friedman talking about the book at the Tivoli Theater, to a packed house that I took as affirmation of the hunger of Americans to fix what's clearly "broke" in our country.

Friedman and Mandelbaum talk, optimistically but challengingly, about where America is today and how to re-establish our primacy in the world that we invente...more My husband and I listened to all 17 hours of this audiobook on a car trip from NY to Chattanooga, TN and back again. In Chattanooga we had the pleasure of hearing Thomas Friedman talking about the book at the Tivoli Theater, to a packed house that I took as affirmation of the hunger of Americans to fix what's clearly "broke" in our country.

Friedman and Mandelbaum talk, optimistically but challengingly, about where America is today and how to re-establish our primacy in the world that we invented. This will mean revivifying the time-honored American formula for success: education; immigration; infrastructure; research and development; and appropriate regulation.

To spotlight our current deficiencies in some of these areas, the authors discuss how our public education is failing both the most disadvantaged of our children as well as the more privileged: countries like Finland and Japan are outperforming us, putting us at a disadvantage in the global economy. Immigration policies make it hard for the best and the brightest from other countries to come here and contribute their talents -- while the problem of the some 12 million illegal immigrants also has to be dealt with.

As for infrastructure, Friedman contrasts a state-of-the-art convention center that he saw on a recent trip to China, built in a mere 8 months, with his local Washington Metro station, where the two short escalators have been under renovation with no end in sight for six months and counting.

The authors lament the polarization of the two political parties. They call for a candidate to reflect the "radical centrist" position of most Americans, a third-party presidential contender who will tell the unpopular truth that both Republicans and Democrats evade: that the programs promised to Americans and depended on by the majority of us -- Medicare and Social Security --are unsustainable in their present form. Although such a third-party candidate would probably not get elected, he or she would force the Republicans, on the one hand, to acknowledge that tax increases across the board are necessary to fund the entitlements that the huge cohort of retiring Baby Boomers will be drawing on; and, on the other hand, would prod the Democrats to accept the need for changes in the structure of Medicare and SS.

Friedman and Mandelbaum express faith in the American willingness to sacrifice when convinced of the necessity to do so for the common good, for the sake of reclaiming the greatness "that used to be us."

I hope that the many big ideas put forth in this book will be read and discussed and debated, from the local coffee shop into the media and up to the corridors of power, and that they will produce the healthy change our country desperately needs. Hey, I can dream, can't I? (less)

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Nov 29, 2012 Jennell McHugh rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book took a while to get into, especially as it's introduction to the paperback included homage to the Clint Eastwood "Halftime in America" Superbowl commercial, which is now washed over by his halfwit comedy act from the Republican Convention.

Anyway, Friedman and Mandlebaum put together a book that is a little light on detail at times, but really heavy on a breadth of global anecdotes and ideas to move our country forward -- I dogeared a lot of pages to investigate further.

I predict it w...more

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Nov 14, 2012 Sue rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lots of food for thought, whether you agree with the conclusions and prescriptions or not. The question in my mind today is, "How can we even get people to acknowledge the problems and work (together) to solve them?

Of course, if we don't solve the climate change problem-quickly-the rest might not matter. The book makes this point clearly.

Downers? Sure. I disagree with the "presctiptions" for education, for one, but programs with some successes do make good models and good starting points. It bu...more

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Jul 11, 2012 Donald Crane rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Really compelling book. The first 80% of it is a damning exploration of how the US has lost its way - educationally and politically, primarily. This part of the book highlights how America has failed to keep up with the rest of the world in science and math education, and how politicians - left and right - insist on making up their own facts to suit their ideology, science and research notwithstanding. (One of my favorite observations: in one study, "49% of US adults do not know how long it take...more

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Apr 16, 2012 Zhifei Ge rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sociology, politics

I've read "The World is Flat" and "Hot, Flat & Crowded" before. Both books are masterpieces of Thomas Friedman. This new book "That Used to be Us" is actually an extension or a review of the previous two books. As a fan of Thomas Friedman, this new book is really a disappointing one.

Thomas has a style of writings to list his key ideas. This is a good writing style as I don't like to read in a great detail. In this book, Tom talks about four major challenges faced by the US, education, dome...more

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Mar 02, 2012 Jonny99 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Back in the early 1990's America became obsessed with its rapidly diminishing lead against an Asian country which seemed to be leagues better at business, education, manufacturing and government. Because it would soon become the number one global economy, it's "Theory Z" management practices received our deep study and admiration. The U.S.'s management practices and slack relative educational standards became a source of national shame compared to a country that seemed to do everything right. So...more Back in the early 1990's America became obsessed with its rapidly diminishing lead against an Asian country which seemed to be leagues better at business, education, manufacturing and government. Because it would soon become the number one global economy, it's "Theory Z" management practices received our deep study and admiration. The U.S.'s management practices and slack relative educational standards became a source of national shame compared to a country that seemed to do everything right. Somewhere between '93 and '95, however, the metaphorical man behind the curtain of the great and powerfully Oz was exposed as Japan's undisciplined lending practices and refusal to write off the resulting bad debts sent their economy in a famous "Lost Decade." When is the last time you heard why can't the U.S. be more like Japan?

Ah, but as economists and Friedman and Mandelbaum in this book say: "this time it's different." Sure, the U.S.'s China envy over their manufacturing prowess, explosive economic growth and increasing influence has morphed into study of China's management and educational practices (Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother) just like before. Sure, U.S. business students minor in Mandarin just like they use to study Japanese back then. Sure, China's near double-digit sustained GDP growth threatens to make it the world's premiere place to do business just as Japan's did in the late 80's. And sure, the U.S. worries about reliance on continuing Chinese investments to pull the economy out of its doldrums just as it looked to the east during the '90 to '92 recession. However, this time it's different.

Friedman and Mandelbaum may indeed have a point. Get passed some of the hand-wringing about broken escalators and aging airports and the pair do present worrisome trends in declining educational investments and, particularly, a political system that does very much resemble World Wrestling Federation more than the impassioned but respectful debate Washington, Jefferson, Adams and the other founding fathers used to get the place started. The authors, New York Time political commentators by trade, are most in their element when talking about this political system and their best points grow out of the admission that the 24/7 news cycle created to cover the 9-11 attacks are massively counter-productive when reporting on nuanced matters of public policy. On this poisoned ground, nothing much is going to grow and some cause for concern over continued American single-superpower-dom is credible.

Friedman and Mandelbaum tie many of their solutions to the old bug-a-boo of recasting the U.S. educational system. They cite the old familiar world rankings showing the U.S. trailing Latvia in math and they point east to the educational prowess of Chinese and other Asian-country students in comparison. The authors miss some cultural context in their prescription. As Dennis Miller pointed out in his rants from early 90's, America was never what you would call highbrow. Eastern education practices work well partially because their basic culture holds education in high-esteem. In the U.S. being called an "Einstein" is not necessarily a compliment. Thus putting all of the eggs in the education basket may not be "...how we come back" as the subtitle puts it.

As NY Times writers, little complaint can be made of the book's style. As foreign policy wonks, however, complaint can be made of a fair amount of digressiveness, arcania and, frankly, droning on. The book contains some unnecessarily filler; the most humorous example is the recitation of nearly all the lyrics from T Bone Burnett's Fallin' and Flyin'. It's a good song but does a political book really need a musical interlude? The authors adopt the hugely irritating habit normally reserved for business books of consultant-ese. We learn about "Creative Creators", and how they differ from "Creative Servers" in a spiral of consultant speak that culminates in the revelation that "Uncreative Creators" actually exist. Also borrowed from the latest Franklin-Covey publication is practice of holding up the behavior of a single once-in-a-generation success as a model. In this case the boys talk about how(has he been officially sainted yet?) Steve Jobs dropped out of Reed College, studied calligraphy and parlayed these experiences to build a half-trillion dollar company. Better practical career advance you are unlikely to receive.

In short, the old democrats are right to despair that the American empire may be following the natural arc that diminished the British empire and took out the Romans, Macedonians and Egyptians before her. Whether solutions can be found east of Mongolia and west of Formosia is to be determined.

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Feb 29, 2012 Henry1505 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An informative book on the condition of America, anemic, in the areas of education, economy, political unity for common good, and environment. The authors brush across all these areas with recent facts of what is causing anemia. There are various areas I think the authors failed to fully explain to the general reader who is not tuned in on all the impacts these topics have on American society.

As an expample in the education arena the authors fail to engage the educational organizations and unio...more An informative book on the condition of America, anemic, in the areas of education, economy, political unity for common good, and environment. The authors brush across all these areas with recent facts of what is causing anemia. There are various areas I think the authors failed to fully explain to the general reader who is not tuned in on all the impacts these topics have on American society.

As an expample in the education arena the authors fail to engage the educational organizations and unions as being contributing to the problem or having a role is solutioning. Why not challenge the NEA, and all their various affiliates? After reading the educational rant and no mention of the unions role then I began to be more critical of the writings and saw other such gaps in other topics. This may not be the writers choice to exclude certain areas from the book and more of a publisher issue. When in doubt one is doubting why things are left out.

The closing is like one of those flag waving moments saying things like do not look at China or be concerned what they are doing and telling readers we need to get back at doing what we use to do is "pursue excellence" is the right idea but do not have the expectation of being the way you use to be. That time has passed and the condiitons likewise. Pursuing excellence in education, work, politics, environment, and other areas is a good mantra to start from. But, like Friedman, and Mandelbaum where is the leadership at all levels of the culture. That is the need and each of us needs to take that role on in our daily lives of performing in all things with excellence, especially in the family which will make it contagious in the community.

What I think does not matter but what the concensus of people want for their families and the future is important beyond the individual. Get involved at the local level as citizens and invoke your civic duty to have political representation accountable to the people and not just special interest groups. That is another topic I hope the authors attack in a separate book of how things fall apart when the political system fails to represent the people. My rant.

Overall interesting topical areas for all of us to consider. At least these guys put it out to there to the public to consider.(less)

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Feb 28, 2012 Alan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I very disappointing in Friedman's discussion of education. Sure, good teachers are important but measuring good teaching is still next to impossible. I was shocked that Friedman praised the governor of Colorado's plan to remove the protection of tenure in the same section where he wrote about the importance of critical thinking.

What does Friedman think is going to happen to teachers when their students ask critical questions? They will be fired immediately. Putting principals in charge of the...more

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Jan 10, 2012 Loyola University Chicago Libraries rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: beth

While reading this book, it's very hard not to feel overwhelmed. It's not just that the United States faces a single, all-consuming problem; it faces dozens, if not hundreds of them. There's not very much that's going right in America these days; from our failing schools to dismal unemployment rate to crumbling infrastructure, we barely resemble the global super power that confidently dominated world events after WWII. And even if these problems were easy to solve, our current gridlocked politic...more

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Jan 05, 2012 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: The American People!

Shelves: business, non-fiction, politics

I will be the first to admit that I am a fan of Friedman. The authors did a good job of trying to stay in the center of the aisle, but believe that they ultimately are a little to the left. To be honest, I don't really care what one's political views are, but rather that we are working together to better America in general.

The authors brought to light the four following issues that are discussed in further detail consistently throughout the book: Globalization, the Information Technology (IT) Re...more

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Jan 05, 2012 Ellen Christian rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

That Used To Be Us was written by Thomas L. Friedman (a New York Times columnist) and Michael Mandelbaum (Director of Foreign Policy at Johns Hopkins). That Used To Be Us is a call to action. It's a bucket of cold water meant to wake up Americans and get them to see what's really happened to our country. Friedman and Mandelbaum take a look at four challenges that our country is facing: globalization, the revolution in information technology, the nation's chronic deficits and our pattern of exces...more

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Jan 02, 2012 Jerry rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: economics

This book talks about four Major Challenges:
How to adapt to globalization
How to adjust to the Information Technology (IT) revolution
How to cope with the large and soaring budget deficits stemming from the growing demands on government at every level
How to manage a world of both rising energy consumption and rising climate threats

The authors at times are balanced in their analysis but tend to lean left of center favoring progressive solutions. They note the impact of lobbying and the role of publ...more

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Dec 14, 2011 Jason Walker rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm not sure it is fair to compare US education scores with other countries, I've never been convinced that it isn't the apple and oranges game. Reading this book I think there are many apples and oranges brought to the front. The United States is not at this time the captain of industry and energy production; it will no longer be the captain of space exploration; and it will certainly never again be the leader in anything other than video games -- in a breath real and in a thought impossible. T...more

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Oct 26, 2011 John rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An excellent look at the America of the future. Like several other books written by Thomas Friedman this particular book looks at the things America needs to correct and soon if we want to remain a prosperous and free nation. Although like many reviewers I think the author's bent towards liberal views to solve most of these problems are sometimes off base; he is correct in noting that none of this can get done with strict party partisanship and the lack of a third more moderate vision for Americ...more

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Sep 30, 2011 Jorge rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: politics-economics

That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World it Invented and How We Can Come Back by Thomas L. Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum

“That Used to Be Us” is the thought-provoking and topical book about the steep economical challenges that America faces. The authors take a systematic approach on what ails America and what can be done to cure it. This 400-page book is broken out in five parts: Part I. The Diagnosis, Part II. The Education Challenge, Part. III. The War on Math and Physics, Par...more

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Sep 13, 2011 Fei Fei (菲菲) rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Unscathed by the great disruptions, unburdened by the necessity of great sacrifice, unpressured by the daily effort of confronting a huge global predator... the baby boom generation has in too many cases displayed too little fiscal prudence, too much political partisanship, and too short a sense of history to engage in the collective nation-building at home that America badly needs today."

In summary, the message is clear: Dear Baby Boomers, you fucked up big time. Please fix it before the situa...more

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Dec 20, 2011 Meg - A Bookish Affair rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, non-fiction, politics-history

Full disclosure: I'm a big Thomas Friedman fan. I think he has a lot of interesting things to say and a lot of good ideas. I'm less familiar with Michael Mandelbaum although some of his books are now on my TBR based on what he discussed in this book.

Anyhow, I really liked this book. The authors start out with talking about how we've kind of lost our way as a country. We've had a lot of things (such as the recession) thrust upon us but we've sort of gotten lazy too. The book opens with a story a...more

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Apr 29, 2012 Jay Connor rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Samuel Johnson famously said of Milton’s “Paradise Lost” that no one ever wished it longer. For me, Thomas Friedman and his various permutations on the “world-is-flat” theme has shrieked us into an ennui where a lost paradise might be an improvement on enduring a "groundhog day" of Friedman’s flippant remedies.

After having picked up and put down, in favor for multiple other reading choices, it has taken me nearly four months to finish his latest – “That Used to be Us”. Not that it is long in ter...more

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Feb 05, 2012 Matt rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The first book I read by Thomas Friedman was his Pulitzer Prize-winning book on the Middle East, titled "From Beirut to Jerusalem." Before that, I read his columns whenever they appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer, and now his other books, such as "The World is Flat" and "The Lexus and the Olive Tree," are on my list of books of read. This latest book, co-written with Michael Mandelbaum, the director of American Foreign Policy at the Johns Hopkins School of International Studies, is an excellent...more

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Sep 23, 2011 Steve Schlutow rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: current-affairs, economics, history, a-non-fiction, favorites

This was a very good book; I agree 100% with their arguments.. I disagree with some of the approaches to resolving their arguments, but many times I do disagree with these author(s) being a conservative.. That said the authors' books are always informative good reads, thus I read enjoy reading them.. This book continuous the authors trend of good books, it is a very interesting book, and I enjoyed the read very much..

The part of the book that I enjoyed the most was education chapters, as how the...more

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Oct 18, 2011 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Once you get past all the cliches and bumper sticker slogans, Tom again has a good book. I was a huge fan of world is flat but only kinda liked hot flat and crowded. This book is kind of the love child of both (but not exactly). Although I don't agree with a lot of his politics, he hits the nail on the head with education and business. For some reason people just don't seem to get that the world and business has shifted for good. You don't need lots of people to make lots of money anymore and as...more Once you get past all the cliches and bumper sticker slogans, Tom again has a good book. I was a huge fan of world is flat but only kinda liked hot flat and crowded. This book is kind of the love child of both (but not exactly). Although I don't agree with a lot of his politics, he hits the nail on the head with education and business. For some reason people just don't seem to get that the world and business has shifted for good. You don't need lots of people to make lots of money anymore and as a consequence there are going to be less jobs going forward. Facebook has been valued at around $60B but only has 2,000 employees for example. With technology improving and business forced to learn how to operate lean and mean because of the great recession, businesses don't need to hire especially coupled with the fact there is no demand. People get mad at business for not hiring while having $2T on the sidelines, but their anger is unjustified in the fact there is not enough demand or economic stability to make such an investment. They just don't need to hire new people to get the job done anymore. Existing employees, new machines and software are more productive and less costly. So what does this mean for the uneducated and the unemployed? I think this book sums it up - better get cracking at educating yourself and/or starting your own company. It is a global economy now - the genie is out of the bottle - the train has left the station - and no business in their right mind is going to pay one person to shine the fork and another to polish the spoon when they can get someone from another labor market (or a computer) to do them both for less. Fair or unfair it is reality. Labor is not only cheap now but intelligent labor is cheap and will continue to be so. What happens to the losers in this economic showdown will be what makes or breaks this country and unlike Friedman, I'm not as optimistic that a society that feels as entitled as ours will prosper in this new economic reality we find ourselves in. I hope I'm wrong. (less)

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Sep 11, 2012 Stephanie Rexroth rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Required reading for all 21st-century American citizens. It is sobering to realize the manifold conditions, causes and factors (both internal as well as external) of our current decline as a world leader. But, being honest about our dismal circumstances is an opportunity to do things differently and that is the premise of this book by Thomas Friedman (The World is Flat) and Michael Mandelbaum (The Ideas that Conquered the World). Recovery is possible and acceptance is the 1st step.

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title link	preview: That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back
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That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back

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