The World Is Flat [Updated and Expanded]: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century

Whether you are a newly college grad, a cashier from Wal-Mart or you just got laid off by CitiGroup, take some time & 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 2 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 2 Bangalore, India. From the fall of Berlin Wall 2 the raise of search engine & personal digital devices, Friedman explains how each major events & inventions from the nineties 2 the twenty-first century contributed 2 the flattening of the world. Friedman also talks about how government, companies, & individuals should deal with this flat world. The last part of the book, Friedman examines the impact of globalization on cultures & countries, ending the book with a strong emphasis on imagination as the key 2 survive in this new world.

Be prepared, "The World Is Flat" might come as a shock 2 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, & 4 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 4 many big companies, repairing computers 4 Toshiba & fulfilling shoe orders 4 Nike. The structure of the book is very clear & understandable; it follows the path of cause, effect, & response. While reading the book, my suggestion is always take some time 2 reflect what Friedman says with your own experience; this will make the book a lot more interesting & 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 2 your own experience. Writers are not always right. When Friedman talks about one point, & you come up with a counterfactual, you just doubled the learning & acquired a broader perspective. Also, Friedman often provides excessive examples in this book. He often goes on & on about one thing & 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 2 the next topic, or else you will never be able finish the book.

In conclusion, "The World Is Flat" is a great book 2 read, especially at this time. With the current speed of technological breakthrough, people need 2 be on their toes & always be prepared 4 the unimaginable. A flat world means more people are competing with you, but it also means more opportunity 2 thrive. Whoever can adapt the fastest gets ahead.

I found the first section (263 pages) difficult 2 plow through - I come from a software / engineering background & found the techie speak in the first section dry. Understandably this book was written 4 a broad audience, & this section was a prerequisite 4 the remainder of the book as it brings the reader up 2 speed on globalization & the events that have contributed 2 today's flattened world. Once through the first section the text picks up it's pace, & reads like a novel as Friedman's prose weaves experiences, concerns, research, & philosophy together.

Globalization effects everyone & everyone should read this fantastic book.

My father recommended this book 2 me & although it is so long that when people saw me reading it asked me if it was the Bible, it is the most important book that I've read in at least the last three years.

Friedman displays unbelievable foresight, simplicity & understanding of the complex world that we live in & gives his best effort 2 inform anyone who is smart enough 2 realize how important it is 2 be prepared 4 the technological revolution that is currently underway.

I find myself citing this book at least a few times per week & couldn't stress enough how important it is, especially 4 people under 30 2 read an understand everything contained within it.

I was very disappointed after reading this book. May be I am not the right audience 4 this book, I did not learn anything new from this book. Found it very boring.

I thought I had bought the book but received CDs instead ... Judging by the picture I should have gotten the book... I hate the CDs !!!!! I couldn't even finish listening 2 the first one.

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 & the Olive Tree, is not 2 give you a speculative preview of the wonders that are sure 2 come in your lifetime, but rather 2 get you caught up on the wonders that are already here. The world isn't going 2 be flat, it is flat, which gives Friedman's breathless narrative much of its urgency, & 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 & political barriers & the exponential technical advances of the digital revolution that have made it possible 2 do business, or almost anything else, instantaneously with billions of other people across the planet. This in itself should not be news 2 anyone. But the news that Friedman has 2 deliver is that just when we stopped paying attention 2 these developments--when the dot-com bust turned interest away from the business & technology pages & when 9/11 & the Iraq War turned all eyes toward the Middle East--is when they actually began 2 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 & innovative startups all over the world (but especially in India & China) who can compete--and win--not just 4 low-wage manufacturing & information labor but, increasingly, 4 the highest-end research & 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 2 report on his story after his book's release & releasing an unprecedented hardcover update of the book a year later with 100 pages of revised & expanded material. What's changed in a year? Some of the sections that opened eyes in the first edition--on China & India, 4 example, & the global supply chain--are largely unaltered. Instead, Friedman has more 2 say about what he now calls "uploading," the direct-from-the-bottom creation of culture, knowledge, & innovation through blogging, podcasts, & open-source software. And in response 2 the pleas of many of his readers about how 2 survive the new flat world, he makes specific recommendations about the technical & creative training he thinks will be required 2 compete in the "New Middle" class. As before, Friedman tells his story with the catchy slogans & globe-hopping anecdotes that readers of his earlier books & his New York Times columns know well, & he holds 2 a stern sort of optimism. He wants 2 tell you how exciting this new world is, but he also wants you 2 know you're going 2 be trampled if you don't keep up with it. A year later, one can sense his rising impatience that our popular culture, & 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 & his ability 2 recognize the patterns behind the most complex global developments have made him one of the most entertaining & authoritative sources 4 information about the wider world we live in, both as the foreign affairs columnist 4 the New York Times & as the author of landmark books like From Beirut 2 Jerusalem & The Lexus & the Olive Tree. They also make him an endlessly fascinating conversation partner, & we've now had the chance 2 talk 2 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 2 learn why there's almost no one from Washington, D.C., listed in the index of a book about the global economy, & what his one-plank platform 4 president would be. (Hint: his bumper stickers would say, "Can You Hear Me Now?")

And now you can listen 2 our second interview, in which he talks about the updates he's made in "The World Is Flat 2.0," including his response 2 parents who said 2 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 2 Jerusalem

The Lexus & the Olive Tree

Longitudes & Attitudes

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