I'll be honest. This book took ages to complete but trust me every minute of it was worth it. It's an exceptionally written treatise on changing world. It's not like that everything will be new to you in this book, there'll be a lot of things that you notice or use in your quotidian life but the representation of the logic that goes behind that object or activity explained is breathtaking. Anyone who's curious about what has happened in the world in 21st century(especially since the advent of internet) or want to understand the generation gap or wants to take a glimpse of how the world's going to turn out in future, this is the tome to lift:):)

Detailed, thorough, and very informative. Friedman has a folksy style of journalism that brings complex business and social processes down to earth (though he also has an undue penchant for coining obnoxious phrases, like "glocalize" or "Islamo-Leninist"). Good for getting a grip on the major issues of globalization, including things that affect you every day and you probably know nothing about.

But you have to read between the lines. Friedman is openly supportive of globalization, and his presentation is generally from a corporate-level perspective with only occasional sorties into the gritty realities of the people who suffer because of it. I find his excessive focus on globalization's winners--India and China--disingenuous and his almost complete lack of any reference to Latin America and Africa disturbing. I find it irritating that he fails to decode the euphemisms that his executive interviewees commonly use, such as Wal-Mart's CEO referring to its "low-cost business culture" (which means no healthcare for employees). He has far too much faith in the magical power of markets to solve problems, breezily dismisses most of the serious objections to the current trends, and refuses to take seriously the social and psychological, in addition to economic, effects of globalization. But that's my political bent; your mileage may vary.

This book has two main problems unconnected to political philosophy. First, proponents of globalization, especially journalistic trendcasters, face an insoluble paradox. By their own accounts, what is happening right now is a drastic reorganization that is an order of magnitude larger than the Industrial Revolution, an order of magnitude faster, and accelerating all the time. Yet they talk about these revolutionary developments as if the changes can be managed by reformed healthcare and education policies. The Industrial Revolution was accompanied by massive dislocation, population migrations, revolutions, colonialism, wrenching poverty, industrialized total war, and so on. If globalization is really so huge and so fast, then pretending that the same--or worse--is not going to happen is just stupid.

Second, Friedman talks a lot about nations like India, China, and the U.S. with detailed policy critiques and prescriptions, but he seems to miss the logical result of globalization: the death of the nation-state. The free flow of capital and the internationalization of labor pools means transnational corporations with more money and more power than governments, with no national loyalties to tie them down and no serious rivals except each other. The erosion of the nation-state, and the imagined communities upon which modern identities are based, is as revolutionary a phenomenon as its formation in the first place, and that will necessarily change everything. I fail to understand why Friedman does not see the implications of the processes that he describes.

Anyhoo. It's worth reading, even if Friedman makes you as angry as he made me, because at the least it brings up some issues that people should really start thinking about more carefully.

I'll start off this humble review by saying : I'm not an economist ... But neither is Friedman ...

This is my first book in "Globalization" and economy (or anything of this sort), so while some might give this 2-3 stars for "repetitiveness" or "obviousness", I chose to give it 4. Initially, I was hesitant to grant this book the 4th star, but looking back, I DID actually learn some new things from this book. Furthermore, whatever observations I had about this matter (which were obvious to me and others) have been woven and blended beautifully into one big picture. Hence the four stars.

Friedman's book is thorough (maybe even TOO thorough), yet simple to understand and grasp. His point is clear: The World is Flat (or at least, flattening) due to the cause of the 10 flatteners he outlines in the first half, as well as what he dubbed "The Triple Convergence". The phrase "The World is Flat" is a bold metaphor to describe the changes in our world a.k.a. "Globalization".

He goes on to explain, through simple anecdotes and personal experiences (as well as some stats and numbers here and there, if needed) how this affects both America and developing countries. He foresees the near future and what is needed for both individuals and companies to cope with this new era he called Globalization 3.0. Also included in the mix is what countries might need to do (Glocalization).

He finishes off with the "Dell Theory of Conflict Prevention" which is a beautiful observation regarding the roles global supply chains "might" play in preventing wars (or at least trying to do so).

Friedman is a journalist, NOT an economist. So, expect nothing difficult; just simple stories, examples, anecdotes, and metaphors any average reader might comprehend. It reads easily like a long magazine article. If you are looking for theories and proof, this is NOT your book. Despite that, many of the author's suggestions and hypotheses seem real, reasonable, on point, and somewhat convincing.

Whether you are pro-globalization or anti-globalization, I suggest giving this book a quick scan. It sure has answered a LOT of questions I had in mind about various happenings in our world. Great job done there !

The book suffers from one major problem : Redundancy. This caused the 300-400-page-book to transform into a 600-paged-beast that won't go down easily. The author could've chopped this book down by at least 150-200 pages (maybe more if you get his point and conclude your own theories). Nonetheless, even if you end up skipping quite a few pages (especially in the latter half) it's OK, as this book acts more like a reference of the 21st century + a suggested "manual" for the foreseeable feature ...

Conclusion:
Easy-to-read, albeit long magazine-like book which makes sense trying to explain what's happening in our world nowadays. Recommended for tech lovers "especially". But still great to read (even partially) for others.

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!

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.

Friedman discusses the role of globalization and how the digitization of knowledge has flattened the world. He points out that outsourcing is not the root of all evil and that we need to step up our game to participate in the global market.

Why I picked it up: It was on the Army's Recommended reading list for 2011. Best of all it was an audiobook.

Why I finished it: Engaging, intelligent, humorous and hopeful this is an inspiring look at globalization and it's consequences. I will definitely be reading (or listening) to Friedman's other books.

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.

For those about to read this, I commend your bravery. “The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century” is a non-fiction book regarding business, recent history concerning globalization and its implications in the Information Age, and current affairs pertaining to the resulting effect, which Friedman calls the ‘flattening of the world’. This compels me to warn you of the reasons this review will suck; I am not a celebrated (or even competent) book critic, I also do not read many business books, I am lacking computer knowledge and a general understanding of economic matters, and I’ve long since allowed my membership to the Flat Earth Society lapse. With such a high probability of failure here, you might be wondering why you should read this review. This much I think I am capable of, as this explanation panders to your interests; this review will be less than 10,000 characters in length, whereas “The World is Flat” will probably bore the tits off you for over 600 pages, all said, I’m trying to save you some time here. Also, throughout “The World is Flat” author Tommy Friedman will also confess to his own lacking credentials, which are almost identical to my own except for his repeated and humble confession he’s a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, so he’s willing to tackle the important issue of the flattening of the world in a 600-page tome largely regarded as a masterpiece (presumably by people with no real world experience, who have just started their first job and have finally gotten some sort of hint about the way the business world works, or who are aspiring to land that first, comfy office job after graduating from the fast-food/retail minor leagues). To sum up this weak introduction, I’m hoping the three minutes you spend here save you hours down the road.

tSure, I am a long-winded clown with nothing of significance to say, inspired to repeat my meaningless gibberish over and over ad infinitum. After reading “The World is Flat”, I can safely say that I can’t hold a candle to Tommy-Gun Friedman in terms of sheer ability to incessantly babble on about the same points; often, he not only beats a horse to death, but rolls it over, and eventually gives it what some have called the ‘dead horse’ treatment, unless, of course, the point he’s mulling over is firmly rooted in logic and runs counter to his beliefs, at which point he’ll quickly gloss over it and dismiss it by citing a far-fetched example which couldn’t be given any more credence than the ultimate exception to the rule. For anything which does manage to coexist with Friedman’s system of beliefs, he reiterates each point dozens of times (which of course makes it more legitimate through repetition) and also provides confirmation via his preferred method, a ‘proof is in the pudding’ real life example, complete with an exciting “holy shit!” conclusion to the story, such as “only in a flat world can a man in Omaha call a customer service center, and speak to an Indian about replacement parts being manufactured in Shanghai!” These testimonials to ‘the way things are’ appear to be little more than anecdotes which allow him to brag about leaders of industry he’s currently hobnobbing with, almost always due to the critical acclaim his previous book, “The Lexus and the Olive Tree”, was awarded.

tTo borrow Tommy’s style briefly, let me repeat: “The Lexus and the Olive Tree” (TLATOT, from now on) is his significant 1999 work which I don’t even feel I need to read, seeing as Friedman consults it heavily for material for “The World is Flat”. How do I know it was published in 1999, he even mentions this fact multiple times; if every reference to “TLATOT” was removed, the book would be about 20 pages shorter. Here’s a real example, taken directly from the book: “In 1999 I published a book on globalization called TLATOT. The phenomenon we call globalization was just taking off then, and TLATOT was one of the early attempts to put a frame around it. This book is not meant to replace TLATOT but rather to build on it and push the arguments forward as the world has evolved.” Reading the words “The Lexus and the Olive Tree” so many times was headache-inducing, akin to listening to a CD skipping, without the benefit of hearing one of your preferred bands kicking out the jams.

tNone of this is very promising. What I find downright offensive in this book though, is the decision to include the word “history” in the title. When I want some history, I want facts, data, photo evidence, fossils, hell maybe even a few mathematic equations which somehow back your statement: I want truths, not bias. As far as this being a “history” of the 21st century, this book is a complete fucking failure. I can sum up Friedman’s historical account in one long, crappy sentence: “computer technology became big business and assisted every industry in reaching all corners of the globe, while changing the way everything was done and everyone’s life, and the goddam rotten Bush administration is screwing it all up.” This may or may not be true, but at the same time, for every issue which Friedman feels is impeding the stampeding march of technological advancement and globalization, he dumps the blame squarely on the front door of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Education is on the skids: Blame George Bush. Lagging economy: Ditto. Science/Tech research: George-Dub did it. Rising male impotence and shrinking penile girth: “W”s fault.

tFor someone to present a book alluding to the representation of facts, I’d expect it to be less subjective, instead Friedman carries his bias to ridiculous lengths and basically looks like a novice with his ceaseless slander of the current regime. The slanted journalism is a major drawback, and Tommy’s maligning political entities appears to stop with the Bush Administration and the Republican party, as he quotes several “wise” Democrat congressmen throughout. Also deserving of Friedman’s praise (and thus that of an enlightened reader) are what he calls the 10 Flatteners (in a long-rambling 150 page dissection of events from the demise of the Berlin Wall to the outsourcing trend), Bill Gates, Sam Walton, and of course, Thomas Friedman. Yes, in this version of his work, cleverly given the Version 3.0 tag, Friedman shows he has no qualms with shamelessly soliciting praise for his work to include in this update; a great example being how two teachers continents apart were so inspired by his wisdom to create a virtual/‘flat’ classroom, and it should come to no shock that he Googled his masterpiece to see what public reaction was, only to be assured “many references are neutral or full of praise, others are vitriolic or flat-out nuts.” After reading this book, I am hoping that in Version 4.0 Friedman takes the time to congratulate himself by asserting his work is the Eleventh Flattener.

tI would be wrong to state there is nothing of interest in “The World is Flat”, however, it’s unfortunate that most of it comes at the beginning of the book, leaving the remaining 400 pages relatively pathetic and dedicated to Tom’s musings. While describing his 10 Flatteners, Friedman isn’t given as much opportunity to state his opinion as he is later, so he does focus more on hard facts. For someone who isn’t too computer savvy or overly interested in computers in general, the history of the Internet was surprisingly engrossing. The thing which resonated most with me was his evaluation of international trade and the modern supply chain, which isn’t too shocking seeing as I happen to be a logistician myself. While it is nice to see Friedman show proper respect to the badasses working in a supply chain capacity, it is somewhat nullified that at after any tidbit he learns, he pulls off the can-you-believe-it! schtick as an exclamation point.

tStill, even with the author giving thanks to the zombies slaving away in my profession, I found most of this book extremely difficult to digest; mainly due to Tom’s insistence to surround his opinions with facts, in an attempt to solidify their righteousness. And each one of these things “has always been his belief”; he must say that about 100 times, leading me to think not only must he not do a whole hell of a lot of listening to opposition opinions, but it also seems weird that for a guy who apparently just learned this item or the other, that’s he’s always had an stance on it. Some of the things he’s always been sure of: Unchecked, rampant capitalism is a godsend and the mother of invention, big government, regulation, and any political beliefs differing from his own will ultimately stop progress dead in its tracks. Getting rich quick off some online gimmick that serves no benefit to humanity is completely awesome, participants in internet sex of any sort are filthmongers and the scourge of the Information Age. But my biggest disagreement with his beliefs is in our world-view. Friedman is stoked that almost anyone, anywhere can no compete in business nowadays, as sees this trend as the salvation to the destitute masses globally. I couldn’t disagree more, I’m more of a ‘clean your own backyard first’ guy, I could never understand extending any sort of help to anyone without knowing that my peeps are taken care of first, and I’m not particularly fond of this change in the world, in which my peeps are pissing away any advantage we once had by spreading the peas too far on the plate. I see the culmination of Friedman’s principles resulting in the American middle class becoming the working poor, whereas his book concludes with his affirming and promising account of a Pulitzer Prize winner dropping his daughter off at an affluent university on a serene September day.

Friedman, Thomas, (2005), The World is Flat, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York, NY. This is a best selling book about ten forces that have “flattened the world” and created a new global economy where entrepreneurs, established companies, and individuals will work together – and compete – to create value. The book also looks at implications for America and American citizens who must adapt to the new world order or face serious economic consequences.

Interesting book that discusses world trends: globalization, internet, outsourcing, supply-chaining, etc. This book gives an overall assessment of why the U.S. is losing its productive power and in the words of the author how we could fix it using innovation; academic institutions are not keeping up with the current labor needs nor are they preparing students to think outside the box and across fields.

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.

Truth can be a little scary. Friedman has a way of explaining the world as we know it, but more important what we do not understand that we should. A great and though provoking read.