(unabridged audiobook read by Oliver Wyman): This book, while a reasonably interesting discussion of globalization, is way too long and repetitive. I can summarize it in a few bullet points:
* Outsourcing grunt work saves money and frees up Americans to be innovative and specialized. It also improves the standard of living in the countries receiving the new jobs.
* The internet = teh awesome.
* Collaboration benefits everyone.
* OMG they have computers in Asia!
* Americans need to buckle down in science and math education or they will be left behind.
* Change is difficult but inevitable.
* Knowledge-based work is like an ice cream sundae.
* Sometimes companies in one country have employees in other countries, or they work with companies in other countries.
* Terrorists have access to the same technologies we do.
* The world is flat. The world is flat. The world is flat.

Okay, so maybe I'm being a tad flip. This was probably far more groundbreaking when it came out in 2004 and the off-shoring/outsourcing panic really started picking up speed. Though I didn't come away with any major new insights, I did enjoy a lot of the little nuggets of information, like the Indian school for untouchables and JetBlue's housewives in Utah. And there was certainly no shortage of anecdotes.

Basically, if you're new to the globalization game and want a general overview with lots of specific examples, this is a good book for you. However, if you're already reasonably familiar with just how multinational your average multinational corporation is, you might want to look for something more in depth.

One final note: the narrator was okay, but it was a little strange how he gave everyone he quoted a subtle Indian accent. ( )

Friedman does such a good job of recapping the last 20 years, you'll believe everything he says about the next twenty. ( )

This review pertains to the abridged audio CD version of the book.

Some books have a finite shelf life, and this work, I’m afraid, has passed its. Perhaps it isn’t so much that the facts have changed, but they’ve become well acknowledged. Anyone who has paid the slightest bit of attention to the news media for the past few years is aware of the elements of “flattening” that Friedman wrote about – outsourcing, offshoring, the Internet, and the other socio-economic factors. I found few new insights here, and the anecdotal information, while interesting, wasn’t riveting. The “dirty secrets” segments (generally about how the US is going about things all wrong) are right on, but, again, not very fresh. Just depressing.

A major flaw in the audiobook version is the choice of narrator, who has an irritating, juvenile “gee whiz” inflection to his voice and makes rather half-hearted attempts at dialect when reading quotes from foreigners. Someone with much more gravitas would have been more suitable. ( )

I haven't read the whole book.

First, it is way too long!

Second, I lost interest the minute I read that "The cold war had been a struggle between to economic systems - capitalism and communism - and with the fall of the [Berlin] wall, the was only one system left and everyone had to orient himself or herself to it one way or another."
This seems like a harmless statement, but I don't see how there is simply one system left. What about socialism? Or other systems used by the other 200 or so countries in the world? He's blatantly implying that the system the US use - capitalism - is the only viable one and that everyone has no choice but to embrace it. It is arrogant and ignorant. ( )

The whole book could be condensed to 100 pages. A good 100 pages well worth the read, but as it stands now it is too much. ( )

Firstly a health warning - it's a REALLY long book. Even skimming some sections it took me a long while to read it. Overall it is a good if somewhat long winded read. As someone working in technology I found it a little patronizing in places but that could just be a function of its target audience not working day to day with some of the technologies he's discussing.
The book lays out a series of trends and technologies that have, in his phrase, flattened the world by making it more interconnected than ever before. He goes on to discuss how this fits with globalization, how companies are reinventing themselves in the face of these changes, some of the problems and risks and what kinds of political and public policy impacts it might all have.
If you are a patient reader this is a good introduction and discussion of the issues facing business and government in the Internet era. If you are not, you might want to find something shorter. ( )

A globalizációt bemutató könyv szerintem érthetetlen módon túlértékelt.

Nem meglepő, hogy a könyv amerikai szemszögből vizsgálja a globalizációt, de szerintem egy globalizációról szóló ( globalizációt dicsérő ) könyv lehetne globálisabb szemléletű. Külön idegesítő ahogy időnként lenézi a könyv ( az író? a feltételezett olvasó? ) a világ többi részét. Többször döbben rá őszinte csodálkozással, hogy a világ más részein élő emberek is képesek elvégezni valami munkát, amit addig csak amerikaiak csináltak.

A könyv érdekesnek tűnő részeit is képes elrontani az író. Az igen érdekes interjúkat külön-külön fel lehetett volna használni cikkekhez, a könyvben egymás után unalmasak lesznek, mert túlzottan hasonlítanak egymásra. Az egész jó történelmi áttekintést (a világot kilapító 10 erő) elrontja az öncélú pontokba szedés. Mi értelme a pontoknak, ha az író maga leírja, hogy a 4-9. pontok az előző 3 által lehetővé tett együttműködés új formái, illetve ha az első pont egyaránt tartalmazza a berlini fal ledöntését és a Windows 3.0 megjelenését?

A könyv címéül választott metafora (lapos Föld) nekem nem tűnt túl szerencsés választásnak, az pedig mindenképpen túlzás, hogy a könyvben oldalanként kb. tízszer használja a szerző. ( )

Fascinating stories showing the enormous changes globalization has already instigated in society. The first half of the book is as full of suspense as a thriller, then Friedman tends to get a little too lengthy putting forward some theses too many... Still: a great read for people interested in how a global economy changes and is to change all of our lives. ( )

In school we had to read book and I think that this book opened my eyes more about the flating of the world because of the storys he told that he went on to India, China, etc. ( )

I cannot figure out why this book is so popular. It brings vivid insight but nothing extraordinary. If anything, Friedman lacks an instinctive will to call any thought his own; for a journalist, reporting the quotes of others is acceptable and encouraged. For an author, 635 pages of that is nonsense. Like Mario Livio in "The Golden Ratio," Friedman makes special note of who his friends are (and it seems he has an awful lot of them), so I question what his true motives were in writing the book. The terminology was jargon, and he seemed rather fatalistic. Still, there was something very appealing about this book, and it certainly was in the upper half of authorship. ( )

A könyv érdekes összefoglaló a globalizációról, de sajnos a magyar változatban rengeteg az elütés. ( )

This is one of those books where, about halfway through, I began to wish I’d been taking notes. Thomas Friedman argues that due to universal increases in access to technology, the earth -- if not physically -- is flattening with respect to growth and opportunity, becoming a much more level playing field.

It took a few chapters for Friedman to really engage me, but I was soon both engrossed and alarmed. It becomes crystal clear that in order for the US to maintain its powerhouse economic leadership in the world community, it must adopt a much more active, rather than complacent, attitude or eventually be trampled by any of several other rapidly growing economies currently nipping at its heels. ( )

http://pixxiefishbooks.blogspot.com/2...

All you need to know about this book is summarized thus: Ugh.

For those of you who feel that isn't an adequate review, read on:

I was looking forward to reading this book. It had been recommended to me by a few people, and I kept seeing it at bookstores - even those bookstores that only sell a handful of English-language books. But the fact it was alongside Danielle Steele and Da Vinci's Code* should have tipped me off.

I made it through 300-some pages, so 2/3 of the way through, before I decided enough was enough, that I had much more worthy books on my shelf, and I wasn't going to read it anymore. The problem was, I didn't like the book from about page 5! I was giving Friedman the benefit of the doubt. I thought he might change! Alas, I can be too patient of a reader sometimes.

Friedman is a columnist at the New York Times and I guess his The Lexus and the Olive Tree is considered (by some, at least) to be the definitive work on the Middle East. Well, all I can say is that I hope it is better-researched and more critical than The World is Flat. This book reads like a long, lengthy, never-ending magazine article. And, with all due respect to magazine writers, here we have an incredibly BAD magazine article. He has lengthy quotes from various players in the global market, but they are all CEOs and other people who have already bought into the 'flat world' way of thinking. In other words, Friedman seems to have only spoken to people who already agree with his thesis. That just doesn't 'do it' for me.

I need to start reading with sticky-tabs handy. There were many sentences and paragraphs that made me snort derisively, and I wish I could find one now to share with you. The amount of times Friedman pointed something out that was either blatantly obvious or blatantly one-sided just made me cringe. What? He's going to spend another 550 pages telling me businesses need to go global, that they can't do it all themselves and remain economically efficient? Tell me something I don't know. Or at least, tell me in a way that could possibly garner some debate. Maybe - here's a radical idea - maybe tell me what an anti-globalization activist thinks of his 'flat world' inevitability. How about those countries who have yet been unable to jump onto the globalization bandwagon (for ex., swathes of Africa)? Oh, the world exists only of the United States, India, China and Bangladesh. I see. Am I really supposed to swallow the line that outsourcing American accounting to Indian accountants is good for everyone because now Indian accountants can stay in India and be employed (the fact that the Indian wage is a fraction of the American wage is discussed no further by Friedman other than as a statement of fact) while the American accountant can exercise his true talents of more complicated accounting (ie., rather than just straightening out Friedman's taxes once a year, he can sit down with Friedman and figure out how to best shelter Friedman's income from taxes). How about paying a bit of lip service to the other side of the coin? Isn't that what journalism should be about??? No, Friedman has already written off anyone who doesn't see globalization as the future. And that's just lazy writing, as far as I'm concerned.

If anyone knows a good book on globalization, please let me know. But this sure ain't it. Keep your $17 (what I wasted on it).

* OK, I'm sure Da Vinci's Code is a good book and shouldn't be tossed in with Danielle Steele. But it's just disgustingly everywhere!!! ( )

I've just started reading this book, but so far am fascinated. ( )

My all-time favorite book.
I read it after returning home from a trip to India. ( )

HC

Somewhat long, but brings up interesting questions about the interrelationships globally wide. ( )

While reading this book, I could not help thinking about how many of the topics Friedman discusses correspond to many of the topics that Barack Obama posited in his campaign. Since both men brought so many issues to the fore, I was trying to figure out if there was a single word that could sum up their stances. I loathe stealing Obama's line, but the only word I could come up with was change. The fact is that the world is not only changing right before our eyes, but it will continue to change drastically as we move along. Both Obama and Friedman are trying to prepare us for the changes that have already taken place as well as the changes that are still to come.

The main focus of this book is globalization. The overall feeling I got from reading it was that now is not the time to debate whether or not globalization is good for the economy or for society - that time has passed long ago. Now is the time to figure out how to use it most effectively, creatively, and intelligently. We cannot bury our heads in the sand and go on as if we are still living in the industrial economy. We have to realize that we are in another revolution that will challenge all of our assumptions about dividing lines, land boundaries, intelligence, priorities, and peoples.

Through research, interviews, and travels, Friedman points out the flatness of the world over and over again. Also, he painstakingly tells of how it got to be that way from the dot-com boom and the laying of the fiber optic cables to outsourcing and supply-chaining. He makes a strong case and puts the answers into the readers hands effortlessly, leaving no doubt that he knows what he is talking about.

While I could go on about how the United States is missing major opportunities to be the major player in the globalization game (starting with creating a large crop of engineers and scientist, which has drastically declined in the education pool since the 1960s), it is the geopolitical implications that struck me the most. More than ever, countries are going to have to work together to create an environment which will allow as many individuals as possible to contribute to society. And that includes finding ways to get underdeveloped countries involved - not an easy task. Friedman made a poignant statement that stayed with me. He said, "The developed will be challenged by the underdeveloped much more profoundly. I worry, because so much political stability is built on economic stability, and economic stability is not going to be a feature of the flat world."

Reading this book three years after it was published has been an experience. Part of me wishes I had read it earlier, but another part of me is glad I waited. In waiting, I have been able to see how the events that were predicted actually unfolded. I have been able to see exactly in which ways Friedman has been correct and how his view of the changes in our world has come to pass. Friedman has brought great insight to this subject, has done his research, and is daily being proven correct. Now the question that remains is: Will we listen?

Great book from the start but et looses momemtum halfway and just goes on repeating itself. ( )

I have not finished it yet, but this book is very easy to read and very worthwhile. Friedman explains how the world has changed because of technology and its impact on everything in the world.

Excellent book about current affairs, from economy point of view. ( )

I thought this book to be both thoughtful and thought-provoking, with many valuable and accurate assessments of the world in the 21st century ( )

Hoewel al menig manager en presentator zich bediende van de iedeën van Thomas L. Friedman die in 2003 werden vervat in The World Is Flat - a brief history of the 21st century en in 2005 herzien, heb ik tot 2007 gewacht met het zelf lezen van de Nederlandse versie. Waar de Nederlandse ondertitel een stuk bescheidener is dan de Engelse pretentieuze 'geschiedschrijving', valt de omvang van het boek (479 pagina's) bij lezing op. Friedman had veel compacter kunnen schrijven. Veel voorbeelden en interviews worden te uitgebreid behandeld. Verder valt de willekeurige uitleg van ICT terminologie op. Je moet als lezer zelf een ICT achtergrond hebben wil je soepel meekomen. Waar enerzijds het ontstaan van het world wide web uit de doeken wordt gedaan, blijven termen als XML en SOAP zonder toelichting. Verder valt de enorme letterbrij op. Weinig paragraafindelingen, illustraties blijven geheel afwezig. Juist met beeldend materiaal hadden veel woord-spinnewebben kernachtig overgebracht kunnen worden. Nu merkte ik, dat ik in de 2e helft van het boek steeds sneller ging lezen, alsof ik de stijl en de informatiedichtheid van Friedman's schrijverij doorhad. Friedman geeft aan 'technologisch determinist' te zijn (p.379), en gelukkig beseft hij dat de aarde niet zo plat is (p.378) als hij in het hoofdwerk heeft willen uitleggen.

Er blijken naast platmakers als open sourcing, offshoring, outsourcing en supply chain management en convergerende bewegingen (versterkingen van de platmakers) ook uitdagingen te zitten in islamisme, AIDS/HIV, de mensen in de half-platte wereld en zij die aan de rand staan en niet mee kunnen doen. Overduidelijk Amerikaans is verder de obsessie met 9/11(dat tegenover 11/9/89, de val van de Berlijnse Muur wordt gezet) en Al Quaida. In wereldwijd perspectief vergroot het de betrekkelijkheid van 'a brief history', aangezien - zeker in onze ogen - de bewoners van Bora Bora en hun handlangers ook wel erg veel aandacht krijgen. Hoewel het boek eindigt met het belang van dromen en verbeelden, overheerst de technocratische inslag en het gevoel dat de voorbeelden selectief zijn. ( )

Offering a business-centered perspective on globalization, Friedman blends economic theory, relevant interviews, and engaging personal stories to provide a generally fair and insightful exploration of the factors contributing to the new global market of things, ideas, and people. In addition, the book outlines basic political and economic policies for securing prosperity (national and personal) in this changing economical landscape. While overall quite useful for understanding globalization, Friedman’s analysis seems overly optimistic concerning the nature of global competition (i.e. “downward leveling”) and social change. B ( )

Excellent! An incredible perspective on a changing world that any one can appreciate regardless of background. I found his view points honest and useful. I can't help but walk away excited (a little cautious too) about the future. I hope our candidates for public office have had a chance to read. ( )