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Dec 16, 2009

Daniel rated it:

I tried to plow through this book, but Thomas Friedman is the most brain-dead parrot of the ruling class I have ever known, so I couldn't finish it.

His view of globalization is that now, thanks to the paternalistic global order constructed by US multinational corporations, there is cultural and monetary things of worth out there in the vast unexplored jungles of savagery called "not the United States." As an ahistorical text that ignores the fact that elites have been tradi More...

17 comments like (36 people liked it)

Aug 22, 2007

Punk rated it:

Non-Fiction. Friedman explains to us, over and over, how globalization has effectively turned the world into a very very small place -- I was okay with his metaphor of a flat world at first, but over time it started to irritate me. It's neither elegant nor practical. No matter how many virtual conference rooms you have, in a flat world it's still going to take forever to get material goods moved from China to the US, unlike our current round model; later he even starts to talk about how some par More...

6 comments like (17 people liked it)

Jan 13, 2008

Rick rated it:

The first big mistake I made was deciding to buy the 2.0 edition of the book (updated and expanded). Redundancy is one of the book’s signature features so updating and expanding it only compounds the sins of this feature. My second big mistake was deciding to finish reading it after first running aground about half way through and taking a several month sabbatical to read more worthy books. All right I’m being testy. It wasn’t such a big mistake. Friedman is a smart guy but way too full of himse More...

0 comments like (10 people liked it)

Sep 12, 2007

JC rated it:

I consider myself a bit of a tech-nerd. I love any new technology that is designed to enhance my life. I can't imagine life before my cell phone, my iPod, and my mac. I love flat-panel monitors, digital cameras and satellite radio. As such I considered myself pretty up on the latest technological advances. After reading this book, I realized that not only is technology affecting my life more than I was aware, but it is also changing the way the whole world interacts. This book explains (in laym More...

1 comment like (11 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Schnaucl rated it:

The premise is that due in large part to technology the world is becoming flatter. Thomas Friedman clearly thinks this is a great thing with very few drawbacks. In fact, he doesn't address any drawback except in passing (other than the random aside that terrorists can use the Internet to network too) until the penultimate chapter.

This is clearly meant to be a book about how globalization affects the individual. Friedman tries to show this by sharing anecdotes and interviews but near More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 21, 2011

rmn rated it:

If you haven't been paying attention over the past 10-15 years to the changing of the global marketplace, this book is a must read. Even if you have been aware of it, this book is worth a skim. Friedman explores the technological changes as well as the political values which have caused the US to start losing competitiveness to China and India. Progressive pro-business governments in those two countries (yes even China) have embraced technological change and allowed them to rapidly catch up w More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Apr 23, 2008

David added it

Heads in the sand should read this book!: This began as a response to one of the harsh reviews previously posted, but I figured it'd be just as good as a counterbalance in the review section.

Using an approach the layman can understand, Friedman chronicles an event which took place (the flattening of the world, so to speak) right under our noses. He gives an excellent overview of how globalization really HAS helped the world, and he does it via plenty of footnoted research into actual events th More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Sep 25, 2008

Matthew rated it:

Detailed, thorough, and very informative. Friedman has a folksy style of journalism that brings complex business and social processes down to earth (though he also has an undue penchant for coining obnoxious phrases, like "glocalize" or "Islamo-Leninist"). Good for getting a grip on the major issues of globalization, including things that affect you every day and you probably know nothing about.

But you have to read between the lines. Friedman is openly supportive More...

6 comments like (5 people liked it)

Dec 14, 2007

Jim rated it:

Friedman is a journalist, not an economist, so the book is more like an extended magazine article than a scientific study. The information is mostly anecdotal, but the conclusions are sound and important. The long-standing guarantee of a middle class life in America is disappearing, and our sense of entitlement to it needs to catch up. If we truly believe in the principles of capitalist meritocracy that have served America so well, we shouldn't be afraid that more countries get to join the ga More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Sep 16, 2010

Alex rated it:

THE WORLD IS FLAT: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY (RELEASE 3.0) BY THOMAS FRIEDMAN: Thomas Friedman is a well known columnist for the New York Times and the person to turn to for answer’s about this country’s economy and where it’s headed. The premiere hardcover edition of The World is Flat hit the bookshelves in April of 2006, and in that time it has gone through a second edition in hardcover, and finally a third edition in both paperback and hardcover. Friedman’s excuse for upd More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 19, 2007

Chris rated it:

A strong argument in favor of globalization. As Friedman points out in a later chapter, the question is not whether or not we should globalize, it is how we should globalize. The "flattening of the world" that he mentions again and again refers to the recent ease of which people, companies, and nations can collaborate with those on the other side of the planet. Friedman believes this change has had and will continue to have a huge impact on the world, akin to the industrial revolution. More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Apr 28, 2008

Leslie rated it:

I made it through "A History of God" and "Absalom, Absalom!" but I could not make myself finish this book. I gave it six weeks and 350 pages, but in the end I couldn't take any more.

Friedman's writing is at times brilliant: he is a master synthesizer, taking complicated economic, political, technological, and social phenomena and artfully explaining the connections between them all and what that means for the future of our world. I had to give this book three sta More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jul 05, 2007

Chris rated it:

I listened to the audiobook version while traveling with some quiet folks. So this was about all I heard. And it seemed to me that most of the time I spent listening was hearing the author repeat his thesis, "the world is flat". And each time he would express his amazement and gush about how relevant his revelation is to modern life. It felt like he had a hard time getting over how brilliant he is.

This book could have been compressed into a booklet. And a mighty fine one at More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 18, 2008

Justin rated it:

Started this book over a year ago and just finished it today. How many times does Friedman have to say "the world is flat" for us to get it? I've never read a book with so many anecdotal and innocuous stories just to prove that the title is far from misnomer.

Most of the content in this book just seemed like common sense after reviewing modern econ theories and histories. This resulted in skimming about 1/4 of the book, mainly the stories that repeatedly resulted in " More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 17, 2009

Andrew rated it:

What an excellent book. It is a really compelling tale of the current state of the world in regards to free trade, outsourcing, and technology. I’ve never read a book before where I literally found myself agreeing with every point that was made. I thought all of his ideas were spot on.

He has a great way with words and with breaking concepts down into simple terms. But at the same time, still being able to remain technical. I especially liked his “Dell Theory of Conflict Prevention“. More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 29, 2009

Laura rated it:

I feel far more pointy-headed but also far more alarmed about our country’s future after reading this. Friedman does go into a bit too much detail for those who, like me, aren’t exactly techno-geeks, but you definitely learn a lot of interesting factoids, which may make you seem smarter, or more annoying, to anyone you decide to unleash them on in random conversation. Friedman is definitely pro-outsourcing, which may rankle some people, but he lays out a convincing argument on how and why atte More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 23, 2008

Satya rated it:

Truth can be a little scary. Friedman has a way of explaining the world as we know it, but more important what we do not understand that we should. A great and though provoking read.

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Nov 19, 2008

Andri rated it:

Udah setahun punya buku ini.. bacanya gak kelar-kelar.. tebel banget sih.. bisa dijadiin bantal. Sekarang diniatin untuk kelar.. sayang udah dibeli tebel-tebel,.. eh salah.. mahal-mahal..

Dan hasilnya...

Amazing. Dahsyat. Friedman adalah pengamat yang jitu, jeli dan mendalam. Juga seseorang futurist yang kayaknya sih tepat.

Dimulai dengan perenungannya tentang dunia yang datar, saat one day dia bermain golf di satu tempat di India. Saat ia akan memukul, ada More...

5 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jun 30, 2009

Charlie rated it:

The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century
by Thomas Friedman

The only reason I decided to read The World is Flat was because I really wanted to read Thomas Friedman’s new book; Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--And How It Can Renew America. I am not even going to try.

Here is my feeble attempt of a quick summary of an incredibly LONG book.

Friedman’s view is that the world has become smaller because of ten “flatt More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 23, 2008

Chris rated it:

For those about to read this, I commend your bravery. “The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century” is a non-fiction book regarding business, recent history concerning globalization and its implications in the Information Age, and current affairs pertaining to the resulting effect, which Friedman calls the ‘flattening of the world’. This compels me to warn you of the reasons this review will suck; I am not a celebrated (or even competent) book critic, I also do not read many busines More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Aug 15, 2008

Jamie rated it:

The world is flat, but this book is not. It's Thomas Friedman's ginormous examination of globalization and the forces that drive it, starting with the end of the last century and continuing up to about 2:15 yesterday afternoon. The book traces the antecedents and consequences of global communication, outsourcing, and exportation of culture in the last few years, with an eye for excrutiating detail. Friedman is overly fond of creating supurfluous terminology for the sake of creating supurfluous t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 28, 2008

Rachel rated it:

Holy sh... this book went on and on. And on. The world is flat, oh yes! I see! But how flat is the world again, Mr. Friedman? Tell me once again, exactly how flat is it? Really flat? You don't say!

Maybe it's just me being a grad student for too long, but I prefer my nonfiction books to have a list of references. Perhaps a footnote or two. But this book is just a series of anecdotes with some jargon thrown in (Bangalore...curiosity quotient...flatteners...in-forming...Bangalo More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Mar 04, 2008

Lily rated it:

If you are not willing to entertain the notion that free trade could be a positive force, I don't recommend reading The World is Flat.

The first section of the book almost made me throw it off the train - hundreds of pages of "OMG the internets!!" and a lot of repetitive metaphors ("TCP-IP is the rails of the tubes of the trains of the internet!") weren't neccessary. I know the world is more connected and globalization is an unstoppable force. Some of his example More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 20, 2007

Joy rated it:

This was one of my Cracker Barrel picks on a recent road trip. I love Cracker Barrel's books-on-cd! I liked Freidman's book, it was full of great information, a little simplified, (but aren't the 'social action' books always a little high school/Time magazineish?), but important nonetheless. I admit, somewhere through the hills of Pennsylvania I drifted in and out of interest - I may not have taken notes on the ten 'flateners' of the world, but I do think it's a quality read (or listen).
More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Jonathan rated it:

"As a work of reportage, especially its summary of recent industrial, technological, and geopolitical change, The World is Flat is a must read – the last several decades’ newspaper headlines enumerated and exuberantly summarized. If you weren’t aware of these events before, you ought to be, and Friedman’s volume is an easily absorbed corrective. In summary, it appears we in the West have won the culture war, other parts of the globe (especially in the Far East) are thoroughly sold on our li More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Jodi marked it as to-read

THE WORLD IS FLAT: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century — Further Updated and Expanded, by Thomas L. Friedman. (Picador, $16. ) Building on his 1999 book, “The Lexus and the Olive Tree,” Friedman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The New York Times, maps the next phase of globalization. What leveled the world’s economic playing field? Friedman cites 10 forces, including the dot-com bubble and bust, which turned China and India into high-tech epicenters of the outsourcing world. “The More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Seth rated it:

Ay yi yi... could Thomas Friedman be more breathless, condescending and self-centered? I'm thinking probably not. I'm less interested in the path of his "flat world" epiphany than in its causes and implications -- and I found it difficult to filter his personal and naive amazement from the equation. His wanton neologisms, combined with his inordinant wordiness made the latter half of the book unreadable. Fortunately, I remembered that I'm a product of a high-end, liberal arts education More...

5 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 20, 2011

mahatma rated it:

katanya sih bagus.
[lagi ngumpulin bahan ttg globalisasi neeh..]
beli yang edisi penguin ajah.... yang softcover:-)

lumayan deh,
ini laporan seorang reporter yang kaya dengan data dan dibawakan dengan ringan, meski berisi tajuk-tajuk yang keren.
saya masih terkesan dengan pengalaman rektor georgia tech univ, yang diuraikan dalam buku tadi, mengubah kurikulum sekolahnya dengan memasukkan musik, sastra dan ilmu-ilmu humaniora lain ke dalam sekolah teknik yang semula More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 24, 2008

Preston rated it:

Everything I read in here I thought 'yes, tell me something I don't know.' Maybe the rest of the world needs to be 'brought up to speed' but I was pretty bored.

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

May 28, 2008

Timothy rated it:

I think this book represents what is wrong with a generation of baby boomers. Aside from being verbose and arrogant, it presents obvious observations as a favor to the reader, as if the reader is nowhere near as enlightened as Thomas Friedman is. In the process, he manages to name-drop, and attempts to convince us all the world is better by outsourcing. Every turn of the page made my blood boil to a higher temperature, so after nearly 200 pages, I handed it to Tony and instructed him to sell More...

1 comment like (5 people liked it)