That Used to Be Us

How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back

By: Thomas L. Friedman, Michael Mandelbaum

Narrated by: Jason Culp

Length: 16 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

America has a huge problem. It faces four major challenges, on which its future depends, and it is failing to meet them. In That Used to Be Us, Thomas L. Friedman, one of our most influential columnists, and Michael Mandelbaum, one of our leading foreign policy thinkers, analyze those challenges - globalization, the revolution in information technology, the nation's chronic deficits, and its pattern of energy consumption - and spell out what we need to do now to rediscover America and rise to this moment.

They explain how the end of the cold war blinded the nation to the need to address these issues. They show how our history, when properly understood, provides the key to addressing them, and explain how the paralysis of our political system and the erosion of key American values have made it impossible for us to carry out the policies the country needs. They offer a way out of the trap into which the country has fallen, which includes the rediscovery of some of our most valuable traditions and the creation of a new, third-party movement.

That Used to Be Us is both a searching exploration of the American condition today and a rousing manifesto for American renewal. "As we were writing this book," Friedman and Mandelbaum explain, "we found that when we shared the title with people, they would often nod ruefully and ask: 'But does it have a happy ending?' Our answer is that we can write a happy ending, but it is up to the country - to all of us - to determine whether it is fiction or nonfiction. We need to study harder, save more, spend less, invest wisely, and get back to the formula that made us successful as a country in every previous historical turn. What we need is not novel or foreign, but values, priorities, and practices embedded in our history and culture, applied time and again to propel us forward as a country. That is all part of our past. That used to be us and can be again - if we will it."

©2011 Thomas L. Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum (P)2011 Macmillan Audio

Pursuit of Happiness

This Inspiring book has opened my eyes a little wider to the need for me to utilize my time and effort in this ever changing world. I’m excited that the book went over America’s history of political being. With protests, Covid hovering around, and the school system in a panic, I must say this book has hit the nail on the head. Maybe a change is coming.

A Very Good Read

If you could sum up That Used to Be Us in three words, what would they be?

There are some subjects in this book which are a "wake up call."

What about Jason Culp’s performance did you like?

Well read.

Any additional comments?

Having read both what others consider conservative and liberal books, I think that these
gentlemen have stumbled on certain truths that all Americans should take a closer look as
gobalization becomes a greater part of our lives. As with any book, this book should be read in context and compared with the reader's experience with other books. Our founding fathers taught us to at least be open to other's ideas. This is a good read especially when
read before or after reading Thomas Sowell books. Another interesting comparision is Mark Steyn books

Amazing!

This is one of the most important books I have read in many years. The authors really seem to have a grasp on the issues that our society is facing and offer excellent insight into what needs to be done to get us back on track. I highly recommend this book for anyone who cares about where we are as a society, how we got there, and what we need to do.

Medicine tastes bad but it works

I am a Tom Friedman fan. I like his writing style. I like his point of view. The authors are pushing some really important stuff that we need to address now, not eventually. They come down really hard on many of our leaders. They point out over and over and over and over and over again the problems and do come up with some solutions but like most medicine, the solutions don't taste good. They're good writers, so they end the book with nice positive, success stories. Don't be a wimp. Don't just jump to the end to hear the good stuff. Take your medicine like a good kid and you'll feel better at the end.

Wake up US - it's a global world

Would you consider the audio edition of That Used to Be Us to be better than the print version?

I preferred the audio version of this book.

Any additional comments?

It is a good recap of history and what we need to do to get back to being a leader in the world!

Excellent Book

Book provides a great framework for how to look at the challenges the nation faces and posits a plan for putting America back on a path of sustained growth. Defi

Nice narrative

This book/audio has consistent high quality as " The world is flat". I like it!

We have met the enemy and it is us.... Pogo

Thomas Friedman & Michael Mandlebaum raise familiar issues and if you read Friedman's "The World is Flat" you will follow this theme. When Friedman wrote that book in 2005 there was no Facebook, no Twitter, no 3D printers and few smart-phones. These and many more changes have become a part of our environment in the past six years. The authors repeatedly ask what is the United States doing to ensure its' citizens have enough education and resources to compete in the new global environment? What happens to our workforce as routine work is shifted to anyplace on the globe or to a machine? In 1970 my first employer, New York Telephone, employed 106,000 people just for New York State and today Verizon has 194,400 for over half the country. NYT once employed 32,000 phone operators all of which are gone with some having been replaced by a machine.

I started listening to Friedman's 16-hour audio book but soon realized it required a hard copy to reference. A lot of information some of which is intense. The authors attempt to put a positive spin on the problems that are accumulating in the US but one reviewer noted that simply describing the problems makes solutions seem overwhelming. This book is an excellent compendium of the major challenges that must be resolved. At the heart of their thesis is information technology and the internet have changed everything and the US is slipping behind that curve at an accelerating rate.

For example: On Sunday our washing machine broke. On Monday I called the company who serviced it five years ago. On Tuesday a repairman arrived. If the machine was unrepairable they would give me a $50 credit for a new machine which they would deliver, install and remove the old machine. I asked if they are still in Teaneck, NJ so I could see what they sold. "Henry" told me they closed all their retail stores four years ago and everything is now done on the internet. They would email me links to recommended machines and I could choose one that would be delivered by a third party. I asked if he was in India and he said no, but how can I know? The repairman arrived, diagnosed a defective water pump, took a picture of the plate with serial and model numbers on an iPhone, emailed it back to dispatch and told me it would cost about $300 to repair. The replacement water pump was manufactured in China.

In essence I am dealing with a virtual company and I learned that the repairmen are all contract employes who are dispatched like taxicabs and obtain parts from a central depot. This is the new business model and an significant percentage of our adult population is or will be unemployed as a result.

Note I ordered Friedman's book book from a Seattle company on Saturday and it was delivered with free-shipping for $15.23 on Tuesday afternoon originating in a warehouse somewhere over the rainbow. The audio version was downloaded from Audible and arrived three minutes after placing the order. If you are in the CD &/or Book business (like Borders, Sam's, Circuit City and Tower Records) you are history along with the careers of many otherwise good people.

Our national goals must have much much more majesty than elimination of government and lower taxes. If our national objective is only inwardly focused reductions then our children and grandchildren are guaranteed to drive on roads with potholes, slow trains that run off schedule, intermittent power, diseases brought about by unprocessed sewage from broken filtration plants, increased social unrest, high energy prices, bosses with foreign accents, more Homeland Security initiatives and no meaningful future such as the one many of us found back in the early 1960s when we entered the workforce.

Robert Soudant

Thorough and eye opening

Makes very interesting points in the political system and state of America and seemed to have foresaw many of the issues we are now facing 5 years after the book's release

Friedman & Mandelbaum do what their title says

Friedman & Mandelbaum do what their title says they will do. They discuss all the ways America has become self-delusional in it's own success and as a result not seen the error its ways to maintain itself as a superpower. We've begun to falter and now it's too late to turn this boat string of bad decisions around without making serious sacrifices..is the argument being made here.

I like how this book isn't democrat or republican it's truth and real solutions. It's thoughtful and not political. Perfect for the independent thinker who likes hearing truth and good ideas from whoever they originate. This book covers so much that even Tiger Mom got mentioned. There's so much discussed that I had to take a break with part 1. I'll come back to part 2 I suppose when I get frustrated with politics once again and ...again start looking for answers outside of that world.

Another problem with this audiobook presenting so much information, you sometimes want to stop and further research statements or references made. So it takes you even longer to get through and you wish you really had the physical book so that you could do some actual bookmarking. As a visual, hands-on person sometimes I wish I had the REAL book to go along with my audiobook.

But anyway, politics, the global economy, education, china/BRIC, the "good ole days" in America, should we become more like China?, America's ability to compete in the global economy, what type of jobs will we see in the future, which will become obsolete? So many many interesting topics discussed here. If done as a lecture series or discussion group this would easily be an entire semester's worth of material and you would still have a million assignments to do at home.