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The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century | 
 enlarge | Author: Thomas L. Friedman
Publisher: Picador
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
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Rating:  1172 reviews
Sales Rank: 184
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 672
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.3
ISBN: 0312425074
Dewey Decimal Number: 303.4833
EAN: 9780312425074
ASIN: 0312425074
Publication Date: August 7, 2007
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Amazon.com Review
Updated Edition: Thomas L. Friedman is not so much a futurist, which he is sometimes called, as a presentist. His aim in The World Is Flat, as in his earlier, influential Lexus and the Olive Tree, is not to give you a speculative preview of the wonders that are sure to come in your lifetime, but rather to get you caught up on the wonders that are already here. The world isn't going to be flat, it is flat, which gives Friedman's breathless narrative much of its urgency, and which also saves it from the Epcot-style polyester sheen that futurists--the optimistic ones at least--are inevitably prey to. What Friedman means by "flat" is "connected": the lowering of trade and political barriers and the exponential technical advances of the digital revolution that have made it possible to do business, or almost anything else, instantaneously with billions of other people across the planet. This in itself should not be news to anyone. But the news that Friedman has to deliver is that just when we stopped paying attention to these developments--when the dot-com bust turned interest away from the business and technology pages and when 9/11 and the Iraq War turned all eyes toward the Middle East--is when they actually began to accelerate. Globalization 3.0, as he calls it, is driven not by major corporations or giant trade organizations like the World Bank, but by individuals: desktop freelancers and innovative startups all over the world (but especially in India and China) who can compete--and win--not just for low-wage manufacturing and information labor but, increasingly, for the highest-end research and design work as well. (He doesn't forget the "mutant supply chains" like Al-Qaeda that let the small act big in more destructive ways.) Friedman has embraced this flat world in his own work, continuing to report on his story after his book's release and releasing an unprecedented hardcover update of the book a year later with 100 pages of revised and expanded material. What's changed in a year? Some of the sections that opened eyes in the first edition--on China and India, for example, and the global supply chain--are largely unaltered. Instead, Friedman has more to say about what he now calls "uploading," the direct-from-the-bottom creation of culture, knowledge, and innovation through blogging, podcasts, and open-source software. And in response to the pleas of many of his readers about how to survive the new flat world, he makes specific recommendations about the technical and creative training he thinks will be required to compete in the "New Middle" class. As before, Friedman tells his story with the catchy slogans and globe-hopping anecdotes that readers of his earlier books and his New York Times columns know well, and he holds to a stern sort of optimism. He wants to tell you how exciting this new world is, but he also wants you to know you're going to be trampled if you don't keep up with it. A year later, one can sense his rising impatience that our popular culture, and our political leaders, are not helping us keep pace. --Tom Nissley Where Were You When the World Went Flat?  Thomas L. Friedman's reporter's curiosity and his ability to recognize the patterns behind the most complex global developments have made him one of the most entertaining and authoritative sources for information about the wider world we live in, both as the foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times and as the author of landmark books like From Beirut to Jerusalem and The Lexus and the Olive Tree. They also make him an endlessly fascinating conversation partner, and we've now had the chance to talk to him about The World Is Flat twice. Read our original interview with him following the publication of the first edition of The World Is Flat to learn why there's almost no one from Washington, D.C., listed in the index of a book about the global economy, and what his one-plank platform for president would be. (Hint: his bumper stickers would say, "Can You Hear Me Now?") And now you can listen to our second interview, in which he talks about the updates he's made in "The World Is Flat 2.0," including his response to parents who said to him, "Great, Mr. Friedman, I'm glad you told us the world is flat. Now what do I tell my kids?" The Essential Tom Friedman 
From Beirut to Jerusalem | 
The Lexus and the Olive Tree | 
Longitudes and Attitudes | More on Globalization and Development 
China, Inc. by Ted Fishman | 
Three Billion New Capitalists by Clyde Prestowitz | 
The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs | 
Globalization and Its Discontents by Joseph Stiglitz | 
The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy by Pietra Rivoli | 
The Mystery of Capital by Hernando de Soto |
Product Description
A New Edition of the Phenomenal #1 Bestseller
"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. In this new edition, Thomas L. Friedman includes fresh stories and insights to help us understand the flattening of the world. Weaving new information into his overall thesis, and answering the questions he has been most frequently asked by parents across the country, this third edition also includes two new chapters--on how to be a political activist and social entrepreneur in a flat world; and on the more troubling question of how to manage our reputations and privacy in a world where we are all becoming publishers and public figures.
The World Is Flat 3.0 is an essential update on globalization, its opportunities for individual empowerment, its achievements at lifting millions out of poverty, and its drawbacks--environmental, social, and political, powerfully illuminated by the Pulitzer Prize--winning author of The Lexus and the Olive Tree.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1167 more reviews...
 It Is Your Responsibility as a Human Being to Read this Book and Make a Difference in The World November 23, 2008
Thomas Friedman brilliantly shows how the forces of globalization have connected the world in ways never possible before. The walls, ceilings, and even floors that once separated people, societies, and countries have been flattened out. Now, a single individual has more power than any other time in history.
We must make use of all these new possibilities to succeed in a world that is more competitive and more challenging than ever before.
You have to establish a competitive advantage that differentiates you from the rest of this world. If you don't, you can't survive.
This next 50 years are the most crucial time in the history of our time. We have the opportunity to end poverty, diseases, wars, ignorance, greed, and hunger.
If we don't succeed in creating a NEW world where people live in harmony with nature and with each other, we don't have a chance as a species.
It is your responsibility as a human being to be accountable for yourself and your world.
 Simplifies the complex, much to its undoing November 22, 2008
Over a thousand reviews posted for a single book are bound to reflect a variety of opinions. But few books can elicit the repetitive and inconsistent nods present here. Most of these reviews fall into two groups: the first classifies this book as well-written and highly informative; the second classifies it as too verbose and oversimplified. I have to say, both groups are right.
They are right because I found myself reflecting both sentiments as I read the book.
The first four chapters of the book recount the rise of globalization and the forces behind it. This accounts for about the first third of the book's pages, and I found its packaging of the complex forces behind globalization to be highly informative and easy to understand.
The remaining two thirds of the book attempts to use the first third to put the world's actors into context. More specifically, it attempts to describe how globalization is affecting individuals, the companies they work in, and the countries they live in. Then it outlines what the author sees as necessary changes for keeping them all competitive. It was in this part where the author's simplified approach to globalization undermined his purpose. Recognizing this effect, the author likely felt he needed to buttress his proposals with more support. Unfortunately, his effort to do so droned on without adding much substance. Here is where the book's packaging fell apart.
And hence, this is why the reviewers here feel the way they do. For those who liked the author's proposed solutions, the momentum of the first part of the book likely carried them through to the end. For those who didn't, their enthusiasm likely waned and they quickly lost interest.
Which will you be? I don't know. Take the time to read the first four chapters, but don't feel guilty if you set the book aside long before you reach the end.
 The globalism he praises may bite us all in the a**. November 22, 2008
Now that the US is going through a terrible recession, we are going to regret that we outsourced all our production to other countries just to save a buck (NOT out of the kindness of our hearts to help India or China), leaving an anemic service industry that isn't going to be enough when the dollar weakens and imports become expensive.
Then we will have to start making our own stuff, and by then we will be starting out from scratch, and it will take years to recover.
Thanks a lot, globalization.
A Book That Will Prepare You For The New World November 19, 2008
Whether you are a newly college grad, a cashier from Wal-Mart or you just got laid off by CitiGroup, take some time and read this book. It will give you a brand new perspective of how companies run their business today; it will probably make you realized how incompetent you actually are in a flat world. But at least you will finally be able to have a intellectual talk with your friends while you are in a bar.
In "The World Is Flat", Friedman talks about how he realized that the world is actually flat on a trip to Bangalore, India. From the fall of Berlin Wall to the raise of search engine and personal digital devices, Friedman explains how each major events and inventions from the nineties to the twenty-first century contributed to the flattening of the world. Friedman also talks about how government, companies, and individuals should deal with this flat world. The last part of the book, Friedman examines the impact of globalization on cultures and countries, ending the book with a strong emphasis on imagination as the key to survive in this new world.
Be prepared, "The World Is Flat" might come as a shock to many readers. Friedman is revealing a side of business we, as ordinary shoppers, have never seen or even imagined before. Freidman makes many great points in this book, and for every points, he also backs it up with real life examples. The most interesting examples I find is how UPS is actually running the backroom operation for many big companies, repairing computers for Toshiba and fulfilling shoe orders for Nike. The structure of the book is very clear and understandable; it follows the path of cause, effect, and response. While reading the book, my suggestion is always take some time to reflect what Friedman says with your own experience; this will make the book a lot more interesting and enjoyable. After all, it is 600+ pages long.
Friedman makes a lot of good points in this book; but bewares, some of his points are very subjective. When reading a book, never take the author's points or opinions as given; think them over in your own mind, reflect them to your own experience. Writers are not always right. When Friedman talks about one point, and you come up with a counterfactual, you just doubled the learning and acquired a broader perspective. Also, Friedman often provides excessive examples in this book. He often goes on and on about one thing and the whole reading experience could be jeopardized. Sometimes one example is enough, why tell us three more. If you understand what he's talking about, skip to the next topic, or else you will never be able finish the book.
In conclusion, "The World Is Flat" is a great book to read, especially at this time. With the current speed of technological breakthrough, people need to be on their toes and always be prepared for the unimaginable. A flat world means more people are competing with you, but it also means more opportunity to thrive. Whoever can adapt the fastest gets ahead.
Approachable for all readers, essential for understanding our flat world. This book should be on everyones "must read" list November 17, 2008
I found the first section (263 pages) difficult to plow through - I come from a software / engineering background and found the techie speak in the first section dry. Understandably this book was written for a broad audience, and this section was a prerequisite for the remainder of the book as it brings the reader up to speed on globalization and the events that have contributed to today's flattened world. Once through the first section the text picks up it's pace, and reads like a novel as Friedman's prose weaves experiences, concerns, research, and philosophy together.
Globalization effects everyone and everyone should read this fantastic book.
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