Sign in with FacebookRachel's Reviews > The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century
by Thomas L. Friedman
by Thomas L. Friedman
Rachel's review
bookshelves: non-fiction
Jul 28, 08
bookshelves: non-fiction
Recommended for:
people who don't quite get "the internet," businesspeople
Read in July, 2008
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...Bangalore...compassionate flatism...glocalization...Bangalore).
But that's apparently what he intended. If you made it to page 629 in the 2006 version (bonus flatness!), you might have noticed that Friedman approvingly quotes Stanley Fischer as saying that "one good example is worth a thousand theories." Uh, what? That doesn't make any sense. Freidman thinks so, though; this book is a thousand good examples that add up to a few coherent theories.
Maybe the topic of globalization is just too broad to write concisely about, or maybe Friedman was looking at way too many trees rather than seeing the forest. But this book annoyed the hell out of me, and it only got worse as it went on.
Not to say I wouldn't recommend it. I mean, read chapters 1-4, then just pick and choose what interests you in the middle, and then read 15-17 because those actually say something new. The book thoroughly covers globalization and the business world, and America's place in the new economy. It covers a lot of ground. And mostly, the ideas are great and well-founded.
I did get a little squeamish at times, when Friedman's advocacy of free trade borders on trickle-down meritocratic patriotic Republicanisms. (See p. 496: "The inspirational power of a local business success story is incalculable: There is no greater motivator for the poor than looking at one of their own who makes it big and saying: "If she can do it, I can do it.'") But his heart is in the right place, I think. (See p. 265: "...a policy of free trade, while necessary, is not enough by itself. It must be accompanied by a focused domestic strategy aimed at upgrading the education of every American, so that he or she will be able to compete for the new jobs in a flat world.") I can agree with that.
But really, if you're under 30 you need to read this book like you need a hole in the head. You've been living it. Go read a blog.
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...Bangalore...compassionate flatism...glocalization...Bangalore).
But that's apparently what he intended. If you made it to page 629 in the 2006 version (bonus flatness!), you might have noticed that Friedman approvingly quotes Stanley Fischer as saying that "one good example is worth a thousand theories." Uh, what? That doesn't make any sense. Freidman thinks so, though; this book is a thousand good examples that add up to a few coherent theories.
Maybe the topic of globalization is just too broad to write concisely about, or maybe Friedman was looking at way too many trees rather than seeing the forest. But this book annoyed the hell out of me, and it only got worse as it went on.
Not to say I wouldn't recommend it. I mean, read chapters 1-4, then just pick and choose what interests you in the middle, and then read 15-17 because those actually say something new. The book thoroughly covers globalization and the business world, and America's place in the new economy. It covers a lot of ground. And mostly, the ideas are great and well-founded.
I did get a little squeamish at times, when Friedman's advocacy of free trade borders on trickle-down meritocratic patriotic Republicanisms. (See p. 496: "The inspirational power of a local business success story is incalculable: There is no greater motivator for the poor than looking at one of their own who makes it big and saying: "If she can do it, I can do it.'") But his heart is in the right place, I think. (See p. 265: "...a policy of free trade, while necessary, is not enough by itself. It must be accompanied by a focused domestic strategy aimed at upgrading the education of every American, so that he or she will be able to compete for the new jobs in a flat world.") I can agree with that.
But really, if you're under 30 you need to read this book like you need a hole in the head. You've been living it. Go read a blog.
Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read The World Is Flat.
sign in »
Rick