Hot, Flat, and Crowded

Critics

• The green American dreamer

  There can be few writers so adept at catching the American mood as Thomas Friedman. In The Lexus and the Olive Tree, published in 1999, the influential New York Times columnist celebrated globalisation in triumphal fin-de-siècle fashion as a process ... (read full critics)

  guardian.co.uk published on Fri, 24 Sep 2010

• Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas L Friedman

  Here is a little game to pass the time. Key the words "world population" into Google and add the year of your birth. The results, in every case, will be intriguing. For example, in 1950, when I was born, there were 2.5 billion people on the planet. T ... (read full critics)

  guardian.co.uk published on Fri, 24 Sep 2010

4 Reviews

• 1 person find this helpful

  

  Wishful thinking or good intentions ?

  Well, there are a few very cool punch-lines in this book. Such as:
  we are not living a post-something society, but in pre-something society.
  The message of the author is:
  The catastrophe is just round the corner, but , hey guys, we can still make it !
  If we do this and that etc e ... (continue)

  Well, there are a few very cool punch-lines in this book. Such as:
  we are not living a post-something society, but in pre-something society.
  The message of the author is:
  The catastrophe is just round the corner, but , hey guys, we can still make it !
  If we do this and that etc etc. Many ideas are indeed interesting, but most of them are more wishful thinking rather than realistic scenarios. But it is at least reassuring to have a mainstream journalist like Friedman recognize that there is a problem with no easy solution. As in the alcoholic anonymous, it may be the first step for the way out.

  Is this helpful?

  Velsni said on Nov 29, 2008 | Add your feedback

• 

  The world population is increasing in a staggering fast speed that we can hardly imagine. Friedman pointed out that the world population when he was born in 1953 was 2.681 billion while the United Nations projects that there will be more than nine billion people on the planet by 2053, which means th ... (continue)

  The world population is increasing in a staggering fast speed that we can hardly imagine. Friedman pointed out that the world population when he was born in 1953 was 2.681 billion while the United Nations projects that there will be more than nine billion people on the planet by 2053, which means that in the author’s lifetime, the world population will more than tripled. Isn’t that scary? Also the increase will be mostly absorbed by the less developed regions, whose population is projected to rise from 5.4 billion in 2007 to 7.9 billion in 2050. In contrast, the population of the more developed regions is expected to remain largely unchanged at 1.2 billion, and would have declined. I guess that’s because people from the developed countries have more knowledge about the impact of the overcrowded planet would do to human being. So, not having babies is not necessary a selfish choice. Instead, it’s a choice made under thorough considerations.
  After reading all these statistics, do you really think we need more babies in Taiwan?

  Is this helpful?

  Elenajack said on Jun 16, 2011 | Add your feedback

• 

  Mandatory for everyone

  Some reviewers have suggested this book should be mandatory literature for politicians, I would suggest we widen that to the whole of mankind. The book explores all the facets of climate change and what needs to be done by all of global society, together, to stave off disaster. It's a practical, rea ... (continue)

  Some reviewers have suggested this book should be mandatory literature for politicians, I would suggest we widen that to the whole of mankind. The book explores all the facets of climate change and what needs to be done by all of global society, together, to stave off disaster. It's a practical, realistic and sobering yet optimistic tale. If you're alive today, you should pick up and read this book.

  Is this helpful?

  presidentmoka said on Jul 24, 2010 | Add your feedback

• 

  After reading the first few chapters you know 80% of the stuff!

  Is this helpful?

  Waleswong said on Sep 15, 2009 | Add your feedback

Book Details

• Rating:
  (24)
  • 5 stars
  • 4 stars
  • 3 stars
  • 2 stars
  • 1 star
• English Books
• Hardcover 448 Pages
• ISBN-10: 0374166854
• ISBN-13: 9780374166854
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• Pub date: Sep 08, 2008
• Also available as: Others
• In other languages: other languages 繁體書, 简体书

Groups with this in collection

• Political Science (2)
• 50 Book Challenge! (866)

Prices Change currency & sellers