The World Is Flat Audiobook By Thomas L. Friedman cover art

The World Is Flat

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The World Is Flat

By: Thomas L. Friedman
Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
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When scholars write the history of the world twenty years from now, what will they say was the most crucial development in the first few years of the twenty-first century? The attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11 and the Iraq war? Or the convergence of technology and events that allowed India, China, and so many other countries to become part of the global supply chain for services and manufacturing, creating an explosion of wealth in the middle classes of the world's two biggest nations? And with this "flattening" of the globe, has the world gotten too small and too fast for human beings and their political systems to adjust in a stable manner?

©2007 Thomas L. Friedman (P)2007 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC Americas Globalization History & Culture International Relations Politics & Government Sociology Technology & Society United States World Capitalism Thought-Provoking Innovation Socialism Technology China

Critic reviews

“Excellent...[This book's] insight is true and deeply important... The metaphor of a flat world, used by Friedman to describe the next phase of globalization, is ingenious.” —Fareed Zakaria, The New York Times Book Review (cover review)

“Captivating . . . an enthralling read. To his great credit, Friedman embraces much of his flat world's complexity, and his reporting brings to vibrant life some beguiling characters and trends. . . . [The World is Flat] is also more lively, provocative, and sophisticated than the overwhelming bulk of foreign policy commentary these days. We've no real idea how the twenty-first century's history will unfold, but this terrifically stimulating book will certainly inspire readers to start thinking it all through.” —Warren Bass, The Washington Post

“No one today chronicles global shifts in simple and practical terms quite like Friedman. He plucks insights from his travels and the published press that can leave you spinning like a top. Or rather, a pancake.” —Clayton Jones, The Christian Science Monitor
Insightful Economic Analysis • Comprehensive Globalization Perspective • Engaging Business Examples

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I skimmed the hard copy and settled on the audio book version. There are quite a few epiphanies here that take a while for the author to walk through but are worth the listen. The underlying theme that pervades this tome appears to be "Wake up America"! It could have been shorter and less prose like. The only other reviews that I saw that were negative centered around the fact that he wasn't telling us anything new. This viewpoint depends on your level of exposure to the business world - if you already significantly well read in this area there are no great eye openers. If however you are not sufficiently tuned in to globalization, transnationals, supply chain, outsourcing, insourcing and etc then put on some comfortable earphones and listen away.

worth the listen

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Would you try another book from Thomas L. Friedman and/or Oliver Wyman?

Plenty of information, very revealing, yet too long. It could have been condensed to a smaller volume, with more impact. There were several stories for further elaboration on the subject which seemed redundant. Overall the book is a major achievement.

good

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There's a problem with The World is Flat and it's not Thomas Friedman's fault. His research is impeccable, his questions probing, his prose light and readable. No, the problem is that this book is now antiquated. It's sad to say that only a few years after the most recent publication, but I believe it's true.

The World is Flat discusses about how telecommunications in the digital age substantively changed the economics of the whole world. It describes how America has fallen behind parts of the world like India and Russia in taking greatest advantage of these changes and he predicts a shifting of economic supremacy in the future. Like I said, his research and reasoning is sound. But this was published before the 2008 economic collapse. That changed not only the United States but much of the Western and the developed world as well.

Because of the timing, his predictions are no longer exacting. If he wrote a new book, one discussing who will rise from the economic ashes best and fastest, using the technology he discussed in this book, I would read it. Friedman is good author, I just feel this book has been eclipsed by history.

Just feels out of date

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I heard a free sample of this book on my GPS/Audible player and thought I'd give this book a try. I was, unfortunately, greatly disappointed by what I heard.

While this book does give good insights into just how the world has and is flattening, it is also amazing how the author has the audacity to focus solely on a Windows/Mac/AOL-centric model of technology, completely ignoring all the smaller yet just as important players and events into how the technology evolved.

Also, the personal attacks the author made on President George W. Bush are very unfortunate and not relevant to the overall arc of the book.

If you like revisionist history, this book is right up your alley.

Revisionist history, v3.0

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An excellent and remarkable explanation of how we are forced (or blessed) to reinvent ourselves to keep up with the world aroud us.
I simply loved it! Worthed every second!

An explanation of the changes we're living in

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