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In association with Amazon.com Price: $57.99 Prices subject to change.Dewey Decimal Number: 330.90511 EAN: 9780786277223 Format: Large Print ISBN: 078627722X Label: Thorndike Press Manufacturer: Thorndike Press Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 839 Publication Date: July 12, 2005 Publisher: Thorndike Press Sales Rank: 868412 Studio: Thorndike Press Related Items:
Editorial Review: Product Description: A New York Times Bestseller The groundbreaking new book by Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist Thomas Friedman is a timely and essential update on globalization, its successes and discontents, powerfully illuminated by one of our most respected journalists. 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? The Essential Tom Friedman !-- begin3pak -->
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![]() Rating: - New lipstick on a old pig!A transparent attempt to justify the new colonialism. In the 16th century it was the great nations of Europe, in the 21st it is the multinational corporation. It is still exploitation of the haves by the have-nots, just a lot of new lipstick on the same old pig! Rating: - Interesting, but overly optimisticI think it's too optimistic for today's world. I mean, geez, how long ago was this written? So far, things aren't getting better like he seemed to think they would. It's all good for India but sucks for the U.S. Except he acts like it's good for all of us. Rating: - Thomas Friedman is one of the most phenomenally stupid people who has ever achieved public prominenceIf you want a good review of *The World Is Flat*, google these words: Matt Taibbi flathead. Here are some gems: -Friedman is describing a flight he took on Southwest Airlines from Baltimore to Hartford, Connecticut. (Friedman never forgets to name the company or the brand name; if he had written The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa would have awoken from uneasy dreams in a Sealy Posturepedic.) Here's what he says: "I stomped off, went through security, bought a Cinnabon, and ... Read More Rating: - Wow! We Need to Change.Purchaed as a gift, but plan to read, also. I know we will be changed by it. Rating: - Keep in mind...That this is a journalistic work, not an academic. This is not meant for intellectuals or professors, nor is it meant to be an analysis of, well, anything. It is simply subjective "gotcha" reporting. Friedman has done what he has always done best..find people to quote and make catchy slogans. I rate this 1 star because this is neither good for people wanting an introduction to political economy or people who have already built a firm foundation in the realm: As a starting point this will build a completely ... Read More Browse for similar items by category:
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