Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Thomas L. Friedman is not so much a futurist, which he is sometimes called, as a presentist. His aim, in his new book, 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 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 tells his eye-opening story with the catchy slogans and globe-hopping anecdotes that readers of his earlier books and his New York Times columns will know well, and also with 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. His book is an excellent place to begin. --Tom Nissley Where Were You When the World Went Flat?  Thomas L. Friedman's reporter's curiosity and his ability to recognize the patterns behind the most complex global developments have made him one of the most entertaining and authoritative sources for information about the wider world we live in, both as the foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times and as the author of landmark books like From Beirut to Jerusalem and The Lexus and the Olive Tree. They also make him an endlessly fascinating conversation partner, and we'd happily have peppered him with questions about The World Is Flat for hours. Read our interview to learn why there's almost no one from Washington, D.C., listed in the index of a book about the global economy, and what his one-plank platform for president would be. (Hint: his bumper stickers would say, "Can You Hear Me Now?")
The Essential Tom Friedman 
From Beirut to Jerusalem | 
The Lexus and the Olive Tree | 
Longitudes and Attitudes |
More on Globalization and Development 
China, Inc. by Ted Fishman | 
Three Billion New Capitalists by Clyde Prestowitz | 
The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs | 
Globalization and Its Discontents by Joseph Stiglitz | 
In Defense of Globalization by Jagdish Bhagwati | 
The Mystery of Capital by Hernando de Soto |
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Customer Reviews
8 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
 There is much interesting information here, Apr 26, 2023
What I am curious about is what Friedman thinks about the ownership of trillions of US dollars by countries such as China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Europe. While our administration is playing the short sighted policy of letting the dollar drop in value, it is at the same time creating an ever widing in-balance of trade with China and the whole of South East Asia. Meanwhile, these growing economies have in their grasp unevolved currency markets and vastly increasing productivity coming on line. Their economy is starting to look like a good investment, while our deficit spending and shrinking dollar is begining to look bad. If I were a young leader of China, I might be willing to think this maybe the time to take the USA down. The timing is right, because China, at this stage, doesn't have too much to loose; while the USA is at its zenith, its economy hopelessly dependent on cheap oil and cheap imports, and its manufacturing sector isolated off shore. Dumping a couple of trillion dollars on the market at a very low price would set up a spiraling economic maelstrom in the US. This future or one like it is a more realistic view. To me the lessons of history are more about Real Politik then the Polly Anna visions of guys like Friedman. The world stage is still dominated by economic neccessity and brokers of power.
13 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
Nice primer on globalization, Apr 25, 2023
Although it has its problems, such as going on and on about topics just about everyone knows and being pithy to the point of distraction, Friedman's knowledge and ability to convey that knowledge in simple terms is admirable. His point, that the world is getting smaller and small, as the Internet, etc., gives power to the masses, is not quite new, but is well documented and interesting. This is a great book for anyone wanting to know what's coming up in the world economy for the next two decades.
49 of 74 people found the following review helpful:
Leveled by flatness, Apr 22, 2023
From the first few pages when Friedman leaps from level playing fields to a flat world, it is almost easy to understand why the cover shows ships falling off the edge of an un-flat world. Something is missing here. "Level" is not "flat". And ships don't fall off a flat surface. Is he trying to be ironic? If so, Friedman ought to leave that to P.J. O'Rourke. If he thinks a "brief history" of the past five years is a funny concept, again I refer you to O'Rourke for more robust and pointed humor.
As a journalist, with seemingly unlimited resources and the once-gilded New York Times brand name behind him, Friedman has leveraged his basic skills into best-sellerdom, all the while seemingly in shock and awe of all the things his rich travel budget allows him to take in. Yet I have to ask, where's the beef?
Yes, the world has shifted from networks based on mythology and monarchies, through manufacturing and Marxism, to today's global marketing, but services aren't a new phenomenon; they've always been with us. And although wireless communication has made the world faster and more competitive, life is no more ruthless, violent or uncertain now than when plagues, expansive military conquest, disease, poor hygiene, inbred monarchies, and wealth-by-acquisition ruled the world as they have for most of human existence. Sure, technology has increased the pace, but each generation seems to think that the last generation had it slow and easy, and that has never been the case. The poor villager who wandered too far away from his hut 1,500 years ago experienced no less a shock than today's global traveler stepping off a plane in Mumbai.
And this outsourcing 'problem' is not new and it is not based simply on information technology. For as long as man has tried to better his life and to leverage his advantages, he has hired someone else to produce the things he needs, be it food, cooking, child care, or production. Like services, outsourcing is not new. That villager from 1,500 years ago thought that outsourcing crop production to the next village over was no less daunting or distant than Americans importing oranges from Israel or roses from Brazil. And you can bet the other villagers were mad as hell at him for taking away 'their' work.
For more than fifty years, columnists, pundits, journalists, armchair analysts, and bad economists have been intrigued by each new emerging economic superpower, from the Soviet Union, to the European Union, to Japan, to China, and now India, and each time all that wonderment and starry-eyed predictions have come to nothing. Like Ayn Rand said, what separates America from the rest of the world is that we were the first to think of making money, not just taking money. And America still does that very well. I still have my doubts about the sustainability of growth in China and India. Sooner or later they are going to hit a consumer-oriented economy and demands for many things their people don't demand today. Besides, their growth has been exaggerated by the fact that they started basically at zero. Bad analysts like straight-line extrapolations. Not only do these growth lines sometimes flatten out, they can nose dive. And what's bigger and more dramatic, 3% growth in a $11 trillion economy or 7% in a $200 million economy?
Maybe the world has become more homogenous with technology and communications. But anyone who thinks that there is some huge melting pot, in America or around the world, would be better served by recognizing the world as a salad bowl, not a melting pot. And neither the pot or bowl are flat.
10 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
 Very good book, Apr 22, 2023
I found the book to be quite interesting. The author, Tom Friedman, tries to simply explain some of the simple truths about the complex world we currently live in. Be advised that some people may disagree with his position, but he certainly challenges the reader to think for oneself. Thought provoking read.
7 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
 Fascinating book, Apr 22, 2023
I read this book before it made the top ten list and was totally wowed by it. I could totally see why so many people are reading this book. The author speaks to the reader in a clear, concise, and invigorating style. The subject matter is fresh and new, and the way it is presented is intriguing.
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Based on 43 reviews.