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The World Is Flat

A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century

By Thomas L. Friedman

(343)

| Hardcover | 9780374292799

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Book Description

Updated and expanded edition.

"The World Is Flat is Thomas L. Friedman's account of the great changes taking place in our time, as lightning-swift advances in technology and communications put people all over the globe in touch as never before--creating an explosion of wealth in India and China, and challenging the rest of us to run even faster just to stay in place. This updated and expanded edition features more than a hundred pages of fresh reporting and commentary, drawn from Friedman's travels around the world and across the American heartland--from anyplace where the flattening of the world is being felt.
In "The World Is Flat, Friedman at once shows "how and why globalization has now shifted into warp drive" (Robert Wright, Slate) and brilliantly demystifies the new flat world for readers, allowing them to make sense of the often bewildering scene unfolding before their eyes. With his inimitable ability to translate complex foreign policy and economic issues, he explains how the flattening of the world happened at the dawn of the twenty-first century; what it means to countries, companies, communities, and individuals; how governments and societies can, and must, adapt; and why terrorists want to stand in the way. More than ever, "The World Is Flat is an essential update on globalization, its successes and discontents, powerfully illuminated by one of our most respected journalists.

"One mark of a great book is that it makes you see things in a new way, and Mr. Friedman certainly succeeds in that goal," the Nobel laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz wrote in "The New York Times, reviewing "The World Is Flat in 2005. For this updated and expanded edition, Friedman has seen his own book in a new way, bringing fresh stories and insights to help us understand the flattening of the world. New material includes:
- The reasons why the flattening of the world "will be seen in time as one of those fundamental shifts or inflection points, like Gutenberg's invention of the printing press, the rise of the nation-state, or the Industrial Revolution"
- An explanation of "uploading" as one of the ten forces that are flattening the world, as blogging, open-source software, pooled knowledge projects like Wikipedia, and podcasting enable individuals to bring their experiences and opinions to the whole world
- A mapping of the New Middle--the places and spaces in the flat world where
middle-class jobs will be found--and portraits of the character types who will find success as New Middlers
-An account of the qualities American parents and teachers need to cultivate in young people so that they will be able to thrive in the flat world
-A call for a government-led "geo-green" strategy to preserve the environment and natural resources
-An account of the "globalization of the local": how the flattening of the world is actually strengthening local and regional identities rather than homogenizing the world.

Critics

The World Is Flat By Thomas L. Friedman

Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times columnist and globalization guru, believes that new telecommunications technology has leveled the international playing field to such an extent that The World Is Flat. Moving on from The Lexus and the Olive Tree (19 ... (read full critics)

bookpage published on Sun, 12 Sep 2010

The World Is Flat 3.0 By Thomas L. Friedman

There's a new edition of Thomas L. Friedman's mega-bestseller, The World Is Flat 3.0, updated, expanded with fresh stories and insights. Listen in, listen up and get smart! ... (read full critics)

bookpage published on Sun, 12 Sep 2010

See all critics

24 Reviews

4 people find this helpful

Important and convincing

An important book on globalization. The episodes are so fascinating that you'll agree he's "got the best job of the world." You may say that he's magnifying the exceptions or extreme examples that he has the priviledge to observe. But that's probably out of neccessity as he attempts to paint a convi ... (continue)

An important book on globalization. The episodes are so fascinating that you'll agree he's "got the best job of the world." You may say that he's magnifying the exceptions or extreme examples that he has the priviledge to observe. But that's probably out of neccessity as he attempts to paint a convincing picture of the future by picking up bits from today. In that regard, he's done an excellent job.

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Greg Sung said on Jan 21, 2006 | 1 feedback

3 people find this helpful

Inspiring, leads to a lot of thinking. But repeating the same message over and over again using 500 pages is a bit crazy. This book should only need 300 pages given its actual content.

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老林 said on Jun 23, 2007 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

2 people find this helpful

Friedman takes you through a journey into the world of internet,outsouring, insourcing and everything else that makes the world as it is today.

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Annam_Mathews said on Jul 6, 2006 | Add your feedback

Leggetelo! Altamente consigliato per avere un' ampia visione sulla "globalizzazione"

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Tsitalia said on Dec 11, 2011 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

This is the hardest book I have ever read. However, I do wish to complete this book one day in the future...when I am financial free!

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Lukagod said on Jun 1, 2011 about the Others edition | Add your feedback

interesting report on the development of the internet, but onesided, rather superficial overall evaluation of the world's supposed flatness - surprising (?) unawareness (?) in hailing capitalism and the free market as universally good joybringers in a globalised, "flat" world (...).

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Kappa said on Nov 5, 2010 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback