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Copy/paste the text below into your blog. <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1911.The_World_Is_Flat_A_Brief_History_of_the_Twenty_First_Century?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1159164170m/1911.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1911.The_World_Is_Flat_A_Brief_History_of_the_Twenty_First_Century?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18675.Thomas_L_Friedman">Thomas L. Friedman</a><br/><br/> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22319693?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a> rating: 4 of 5 stars<br/>The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century. is an interesting book by Thomas Friedman. I read this book shortly after I returned from Thailand. As such, my view of the book is different than it may have been. I do not share all of his views regarding globalization, but I am glad that I read this book. Also, this was a year ago so it has already become a part of a mass of information gathered from other books (inside of my head). That is why I decided to go back and review as many books as possible. I would like to remember where I read a given idea. Anywho, this review will not encompass this book so I recommend that you read it. I will say that the author provides a great summary of the 10 forces that he believes “flattened the world.” Including: <br/> <br/>The Ten Forces That Flattened the World <br/> <br/>1. 11/9/89 - When the Walls Came Down and the Windows Went Up <br/> <br/>2. 8/9/95 – When Netscape Went Public <br/> <br/>3. Work Flow Software <br/> <br/>4. Open-Sourcing <br/> <br/>5. Outsourcing <br/> <br/>6. Offshoring: <br/> <br/>7. Supply-Chaining <br/> <br/>We get what we want. In season, out of season. Most of us don’t even know what, if anything, is in season in our communities. We want tomatoes, mangoes, and strawberries in January. We want them now. We want them cheaply. We want efficiency. So, we get them in our fancy plastic bags. They don’t taste right and they have a freakishly perfect appearance, but we have them anytime of day at most stores. Friedman points out that Wal-Mart is very efficient, in this regard. I do not shop at Wal-Mart. I used to. Most of my family does. I do not judge them for it, but I cannot shop there. They are the store to beat and so many companies look to them and change their own practices. Yes, I am a consumer. Yes, I sometimes shop at chain stores – hello Target, but I cannot stop into a Wal-Mart. It is a symbol of so much that I dislike. Also, I think their merchandize is so streamlined that it is crap-tastic! <br/> <br/>This Wal-Mart topic is a bit of a cliché’ and causes an inner turmoil in most of us. Friedman describes it well: <br/> <br/>“Yes, the consumer in us wants Wal-Mart prices, with all the fat gone. But the employee in us wants a little fat left on the bone, the way Costco does it, so that it can offer health care to almost all its employees, rather than just less than half of them, as Wal-Mart does. But the shareholder in us wants Wal-Mart’s profit margins, not Costco’s. Yet the citizen in us wants Costco’s benefits, rather than Wal-Mart’s, because the difference ultimately may have to be paid by society.” P221 <br/> <br/>“One can only hope that al the bad publicity Wal-Mart has received in the last few years will force it to understand that there is a fine line between a hyper efficient global supply chain that is helping people save money and improve their lives and one that has pursued cost cutting and profit margins to such a degree that whatever social benefits it is offering with one hand, it is taking away with the other.” P137. <br/> <br/>8. Insourcing <br/> <br/>This chapter was fascinating. I had noticed these things, but I hadn’t thought about the fact that this is “insourcing.” This is an interesting way that the small business folks can compete with the conglomerates. That central hub in Louisville is bringing in business. <br/> <br/>9. In-forming <br/> <br/>Hello, Google! “Google” a friend’s name and see what happens – not mine. <br/> <br/>10. The Steroids – Digital, Mobile, Personal, and Virtual <br/> <br/>He then discusses what he calls the” Quiet Crisis.” He describes ambition and education gaps that are present in our country. He makes a great point about the influence of mass media and the tendency for students to aspire to be celebrities and not innovators. Great quote: <br/> <br/>“I was talking to a Chinese-American who works for Microsoft and has accompanied Bill Gates on visits to China. He said Gates is recognized everywhere he goes in China. Young people there hang from the rafters and scalp tickets just to hear him speak…In China today, Bill Gates is Britney Spears. In America today, Britney Spears is Britney Spears—and that is our problem.” P265 <br/> <br/> While I do not agree with every section of this book, I recommend that you read it. I would love to discuss it with you, but even if you don’t, keep the following thoughts in mind: <br/> <br/> “While your lives have been powerfully shaped by 9/11, the world needs you to be forever the generation of 11/9—the generation of strategic optimist, the generation with more dreams than memories, the generation that wakes up each morning and not only imagines that things can be better but also acts on that imagination every day.” P269. <br/> <br/>“So even though we can now imagine what could happen when we get on an airplane, we have to get on the plane anyway. Because the alternative to not getting on that plane is putting ourselves in our own cave. Imagination can’t just be about reruns. It also has to be about writing our own new script.” P450 <br/> <br/>This book didn’t depress me. It reminded me to keep striving for a more collaborative world. <br/> <br/> <br/><br/><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/737372?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>