This book is neither brief nor a comprehensive history; it’s simply a dated and uninspiring book that no longer offers anything profound, interesting, or informative. If it’s still on your to-read list, do yourself a favor and remove it.

The book oversimplifies key issues and fails to address the complexities and inequalities that globalization often creates. Friedman relies heavily on anecdotal evidence, with little critical analysis of the negative impacts of a globalized economy. He presents a vision of a “level playing field,” but ignores how economic disparities and power imbalances persist—or even deepen—in a globalized world. His claim that natural talent now trumps geography, making it better to be a genius in a developing country than an average person in a developed one, is simply false. The quality of life for the “average guy” in a first-world country is still far superior, and in the job market, it’s the graduate from a well-established university in the developed world who will land the interview, not the “genius” from a top university in a developing nation.

Moreover, much of the book is excessively detailed, dry, and irrelevant today. Friedman spends countless pages praising Walmart, as if it were still a shining example of innovation, yet in the current era, the company is hardly at the forefront of anyone’s mind. In addition, his constant self-insertion into the narrative is also tiresome and distracting. The book also essentially revolves around the U.S., China, and India, while the responses of other nations to globalization are largely ignored.

Ultimately, this book feels like a time capsule from the mid-2000s: outdated, overly simplistic, and, frankly, a waste of time.

Thomas L. Friedman accurately predicted the future almost 10 years ago. This book outlines the most important forces that shaped the world as we know it today. And reading it nowadays makes you appreciate all the little things we take for granted. We have come a long way since 10 years and now live in a very competitive and challenging world that doesn't wait for you if you're not running at a full sprint. One of my favorite parts of the book is when the author explains why certain countries still live in the past when they have so many resources and huge potential. He makes a clear distinction between dreams and memories and how one builds nations while the other destroys them.

The reason I'm giving this book 4 stars is because I felt that some parts where a little longer than they should be and that made it less entertaining to read. But overall, this is a book I definitely recommend to anyone that wants to understand how we have become so interconnected and dependent on each other.

This book opened my eyes to a changing world...or perhaps a changed world as it was written 8 years ago and the I-Phone has already been invented. Strangely enough, I felt increasingly motivated by this book despite the challenges it points out to a globalized, flattened America and world. I felt, during and after reading it, that I wanted to do something...not just anything, but something spectacular. I wanted to get on this Technology Train because hell, it's moving and we are all on it rather we want to be or not--it just depends on if we know it has started moving. The world is indeed flattening. Yes, there are forces out there trying to unflatten it, but I doubt they will win. As a time in my life wherein I'm truly searching for 'my' career, I couldn't have read this book at a better time.

(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.

I loved this book. I had bought it for a class and due to the speed of which I had to read it for class I bought the audiobook too, so I could listen to it in my car during the commute. This is an awesome book. I really enjoyed it and recommend it.

I work in a multi-national, multi-cultural environment and I wouldn't have it any other way. People need to adapt to this type of work environment and for that they need to put aside any prejudice they have and treat people like they live next door, while respecting the religion and culture of the people they work with. Never before has it been more important for people to learn about the various cultures of the world.

Heads in the sand should read this book!: This began as a response to one of the harsh reviews previously posted, but I figured it'd be just as good as a counterbalance in the review section.

Using an approach the layman can understand, Friedman chronicles an event which took place (the flattening of the world, so to speak) right under our noses. He gives an excellent overview of how globalization really HAS helped the world, and he does it via plenty of footnoted research into actual events that took place to get us to this point in history.

Commerce (or consumption, if you'd rather) is, whether you like to admit it or not, the backbone of ALL successful societies (you know, the ones that aren't still tearing themselves apart over dark age religions and living in sandy hellholes). Sure, it comes with a price, but what doesn't? The fight to stem global warming will no doubt come with a price (higher priced hybrid cars and other associated costs of being "green"), but in the end, our descendants will live vastly different lives centuries from now because of it.

I'm sure the Negative Nellies here would be the first people to point fingers at how little the people in Chinese factories are paid (especially in light of the recent toy scandals), but don't want to know what options they had before they had those supposedly "lousy" factory jobs. Oh, that's right, they had NO options.

The very fact that Friedman addresses the dark side of globalization in the book (and in related audio programs and interviews he's done over the last year or more) should indicate that he's well aware of the fall-out, but knows it's inevitable AND surmountable as more and more countries develop a middle class, even if it's a middle class build on knock-offs like China's. But with higher standards being slowly forced upon them as an exporter, the benefit will be higher standards of living for their people, and less reliance on the bootleg.

The forces are already in play to legitimize much of what Friedman has outlined in the book, and so much the better we'll all be for it. It's not about how much we can consume, although boy can we North Americans consume, and we wanted to do it for less money, and now look where all our manufacturing jobs have gone. But don't worry, there will always be an infrastructure in place in western countries, and while some business goes overseas, new business springs up. Even a service-based economy is still an economy. But now former third world countries and/or failed dictator states are finally being given the opportunity that they could not possibly have taken before due to doomed philosphies: they can begin to think globally and come out of the dark ages, where once the only "saviour" someone believed they needed was spoonfed to them from birth, but really only an internal salve against raging poverty and/or oppression. THAT's the only useful function of most religions and many political systems, but that's another book altogether. THIS book is about something that is too big to suddenly stop because we fear for future generations. Instead, we have to find ways to make what already works, work better, so that future generations from ALL walks of life and from ALL countries can partake in better economies, and freer societies.

Loathe globalization all you want, but in this day and age, and probably for many more ages to come, COMMERCE will be the major way to guarantee progress. Goodness knows, politics and religion have tried and failed repeatedly, so why NOT let the marketplace dictate progress. It works, and it's flaws can be corrected, as they are in all good sciences; it just takes time.

And, if you're bummed out, as "Casca" appears to be in another review, that you couldn't start your own airline, you've missed the point again. The point is that we now live in a world that's more connected than at any point in the history of mankind, and we're only going to become MORE connected as time goes on. If you have the capabilities of utilizing that connectivity to further your own business plans, creativity, social life, knowledge, you'd be a fool not to give it a try. Hell, even the terrorists have done it! It's not about running down to your bank for $100 million loans. It's about seeing the world, and your place in it-particularly if your business is BUSINESS and actually making a decent living-being made better with the technology that's at your fingertips. The one's who are sticking their heads in the sand are the ones who can't fathom that the world flattened, as Friedman says, while they were sleeping.

I was late in reading this one. It's been around for awhile but just recently showed up on the library shelf.

The World is Flat provided a perspective on technology that I had not considered. Friedman makes interesting, and sometimes disturbing, points about how burgeoning technology affects education, business and the geo-political world. The original book is 5 years old and was written in the dark ages compared to the technology that is available to us today.

However his theories hold up. A case in point is the election protests in Iran, organized via Twitter and the Internet.

As Friedman points out - technology is here to stay. How we deal with it determines our individual and collective success or failure in the future.

One of the pieces of trash that I had read long back during the IT days and had forgotten to add here. Some neo-liberal propaganda somewhere reminded me of this book that should not have existed, like the loony who wrote this. Rating it one because goodreads does not let you give a zero or negative rating.

I feel far more pointy-headed but also far more alarmed about our country’s future after reading this. Friedman does go into a bit too much detail for those who, like me, aren’t exactly techno-geeks, but you definitely learn a lot of interesting factoids, which may make you seem smarter, or more annoying, to anyone you decide to unleash them on in random conversation. Friedman is definitely pro-outsourcing, which may rankle some people, but he lays out a convincing argument on how and why attempts to curb such practices will be ultimately fruitless and could actually hurt the chances for stabilizing democracies worldwide. Regardless of whether you agree with his arguments, you definitely come away from this book thinking: (1) holy crap why didn’t I major in Math or Engineering?; (2) holy crap my kids better major in Math or Engineering; and (3) holy crap if our schools don’t start getting better at teaching Math and Engineering, America is going to need to find itself a nice big Indian sugar-daddy.

Thomas Friedman's wonderful book and theory about how the world is flat, meaning that through techonology and other developments, global citizens are now closer than ever with our neighbours around the world with capability to do start-ups, innovative transglobal innovations and more. This is not so much a futurist book, but how Friedman sees the world as already connected and some proposals on how we can move forward with what is already in place.

It's been a while so I'll try to recall what I told people at the time.

Some interesting points about globalization but a lot of mildly inaccurate generalizations about history, technology, and Friedman takes an annoying tone at times. Still the basic premise of the book is insightful and highly readable. There are also some lectures on the subject of this book available on iTunes that Friedman gave at MIT.

This is extremely applicable to today with Trump’s terrible protectionist agenda. It’s also incredibly important reading to understand the current companies that impact our economy and globalization. It should be constantly updated as companies compete and grow, or get phased out.

It describes the positive effects of globalization, but you can see how we are now digressing worldwide after reading this. The positivity is high here, but it’s digressed a lot since this was published. My mindset was focused on comparing his message to today’s political mess.

India is discussed quite a bit to start, and with good reason. They are a perfect example of the positive impacts of globalization. It’s a country just waiting to explode with potential. The other is China, whom is realizing their potential and pushing very aggressively to grow their economy, and essentially be the global leader. In regards to today, China has the upper hand. Setting tariffs on China for a supposed “equal” playing field for steel will make goods more expensive here as they participate in the trade war. People have no idea how good they have it to be able to buy cheap daily goods made over seas. Lower consumer spending means less extra money for saving. This means less houses being bought. And we are in the middle of raising interest rates. Idiotic. The book describes that we should be letting China make out cheap goods so companies in the US can focus on being more competitive than spending capital and effort on cheap goods.

It literally states that if America wants to stay ahead they need to continually run faster than the lion, which is China. Now with Trump’s idiot agenda, we are handicapping ourselves with our own stupidity. China will spring forward and take advantage, without question or hesitance.

Next section on Walmart seems dated. Yes they were amazing at the time to help flatten the world, but Amazon is now kicking their butt and forcing them to change. Amazon is not only beating them at their own game but they are extending into industries Walmart never touched, like Prime membership and delivering your goods to your door. They have their own aircraft fleet of 767s; now that’s dedication to supply chain AND delivery. UPS is also discussed but again Amazon is taking over multiple businesses doing the flattening. They are consolidating the level playing field.

Google is the democratization of information, which is better for the world to be informed but nowadays it seems people only search and absorb information or opinions that favor their beliefs. We need a democratization of the mind.

Next are the “steroids”, the power that enables the growth of the playing field; computing power, free phone calls, and video conferencing. These will eventually be free and computing power will grow exponentially. He ends with being blown away by Rolls Royce tracking their engine performance on a 777. Too bad they have the crappiest performing engines. Boeing tracks this real time and has to chase Rolls during issues. I digress.

The triple convergence talks about India and they can now perform outsourced work just as well as produced in America. I agree, for certain areas of India and for certain simple products. I however have experienced first hand the negative impacts of outsourcing, especially for complicated products. I agree that India may have good engineers, but not all countries have good engineering knowledge and work ethic. Outsourcing all over the world is not good. Specific and constraint based complex products should be done in house and the companies that are able should continue their support on simpler products. If they have a great work ethic and talent to boot, then they likely could perform the work. But until that company decides that making a profit is more important than supporting the customer, then outsourcing doesn’t look so good. Product quality for the customer takes a back seat. Their lies another issue.
Also, you can end up losing valuable intellectual property which can be turned against or sold against your company. So I understand outsourcing is good from India’s perspective, but I want hear from the American CEO on it. So I only half agree with Friedman’s one sided report.

Though, he did discuss Boeing using Russian engineers for design work, which is still used today. And also the 787 being outsourced to many different countries, but it’s 2018, and the lessons from that over outsourcing have been realized....too much was a big mistake.

Part two begins with what I was looking for, the argument against protectionism. Which assumes that no inventions and business innovation will ever occur, so we must protect our jobs from foreign countries. Hogwash! Americans should be ready to compete and educate themselves. This requires funding toward educational reform, a focus on math and science. Jobs won’t go away, new ones will develop, and there will always be a need for personnel. It’s foolish to live in fear of progress; it’s exciting.
Page 315 actually states that so far America has not succumb to economic protectionists who want to put up walls to keep jobs in. Unbelievable how predictable ignorance is. We must remain free and open to succeed. It’s how America became so strong all these years. But alas, we will wake up.

The Quiet Crisis is an important chapter. Education focus is falling in America. It’s very apparent in 2004, but now with Trump and protectionism garbage, it’s about to get much worse. He appointed Betsy Davos as education secretary whom has zero experience apparently as a favor since she is a top Republican donor. This tells you up front he doesn’t give a shit about education. Other countries, like China and India, are catching up and already are out pacing us in academic achievement. If these countries are able to stabilize their political environments, they will not only replace the dollar as the worldwide safe haven, but they will pass us in innovation. America will become a second tier country that will then need to catch up. Unfortunately right now, no one is fighting for education as a top need in our government.

He nails it on the chapters about America’s issues and how to save it. China and India are closing in. We only will destroy ourselves if we do not continue to push for more. We should not be closing our walls to protect simple jobs, but rather opening up and pushing for innovation and higher education. It’s extremely evident the bad state we are in with teachers striking for equal pay across the US. It’s pretty clear we don’t care enough. It’s unbelievable so many good people decide to become teachers knowing its low pay. There are many fighting for our future.

Also, I’ve noticed that macroeconomics is very similar to how a properly run corporation should operate. Invest in the future, don’t become complacent, motivate and train your employees constantly. Just a side thought.

The end chapters on the risks known regarding globalization are interesting. Spreading disease easily is a major concern and requires all countries to work together during a crisis. What is also great is the part on the types of populist groups that emerge and protest against being global. There are five types of groups listed, and I would like to know what Friedman thinks now about Trump supporters, as they are wide ranging in their modified beliefs.
One portion of the book about why terrorists act in extreme fashion is due to humiliation. They feel humiliated in some way and act out in an explosive manner toward others. Now, I don’t want to say Trump supporters are terrorists, but they do seem to have a common trait of someone who may have been humiliated in a way and feel they need to act out to others, and Trump is exactly that type of crazy person whom is acting out toward American society. They absolutely love who he is and his insanity, simply because he causes panic and chaos. And there are different levels of this, some extreme and some suttle, just enough to vote for him. Facebook sure as shit enabled this with their support of providing user data and allowing of propaganda ads.

The chapter on conflict prevention is particularly important as well from the WTO perspective. Countries are less apt to go to war if global supply chains are embedded into their economies. What does protectionism enable? I think we know that answer.

But he also then talks about the dangers of propaganda on the internet. Unbelievable the concerns described in this book that are being utilized today. “The internet is more likely to transmit irrationality than rationality.” Today, it’s the Russians. “You download the precise point of view that speaks to all your own biases.”

This book is a bit dated, but that just goes to show you how fast our economy can change. I can appreciate his excitement for globalization and the advantages that go with it. We must continually be adaptable. Protectionism is paranoia. Paranoia is regression. That is not the American spirit.

I’d like to see Friendman continue to expand and update on the spirit of this theme. There is much more out there to show the positive effects of globalization. I focused more on how the message of this book applied to today’s buffoonery in the White House. Very applicable book that seems to somewhat predict what is happening today by simply identifying the risks of not being more global. His conclusion warns of our biggest risks: protectionism, walling ourselves off from the world and living in fear. All too relatable; and apparently was predictable.

Great recommendation Dad!