The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century

I originally received this book as a Christmas present from my in-laws, and they earnestly thought I'd enjoy it for some reason. Friedman's position as one of the most celebrated establishment pundits is the clearest proof yet of Orwell's thesis in his essay Politics and the English Language, in which he argues that mainstream political writing is almost by definition bad writing in large part because it exists to defend the indefensible. And nowhere is there a clearer example of Friedman's terrible writing (the book's title is the result of the grotesque mangling of a metaphor about the alleged leveling of the global playing field) and mediocre thinking in service to the elite than this book. Still, after reading it I found myself with a better understanding of the values and assumptions of the people who laud Friedman and better able to explain my opposition to corporate globalization and "free" trade, so I suppose I owe Friedman (and my in-laws) some gratitude.

I had been half-way through reading [author:Thomas Friedman]'s [book:The Lexus and the Olive Tree], but I then had to return it to the library due to a move. I was then given this book by my father before I left, and I can tell that Friedman has done some maturing since his earlier work on globalization. In the Lexus and the Olive Tree, he was a wide-eyed globalization enthusiast, practically gushing, and his name-dropping of interviewees often came off as braggadocious (I was having breakfast with the king of Thailand the other day. . .). However, what I did like about The Lexus and the Olive Tree is that Friedman took complicated subjects and delineated them very simply and powerfully. He takes this skill yet further on the subject of globalization in The World Is Flat, and his approach this time around is also much more sober, examining all aspects of our newly interconnected globe in a truly enlightening manner. I really enjoyed this book, and I feel that it is a must-read for anyone trying to get a grasp of what's going on in the world right now.

Some of his points really came through when I recently interviewed for a business that had its data scanned into a computer and sent to Beijing to be input into PDF forms during (our) night-time, as well as have receptionists located in their main office in Houston who transfer calls to their proper recipient in NY, Chicago, or Boston via an internet phone system. The world is indeed flattening, and we can see its effects not only in the realm of business, but also art, music, and culture. Those people and businesses and governments that are taking innovative advantage of this "flat world" are the ones who are forging ahead.

For those of you worried that this book is simply about trumpeting the glories of globalization and finance, rest at east. Friedman talks about open-source software collaborations, terrorism, and the failures of the American public school system, in addition to a myriad of other impacts and aspects of globalization. This book is well-researched, well-articulated, and gives a lot of food for thought, but most importantly, it gives you a wider lens for looking at your world.