The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century

Good start and good topic over all. The main problem was that it dragged on towards the last third..... and the length made it hard for me to keep all the interconnected pieces together in my head. Probably could have been cut down a bit IMHO.

Starts out fairly interesting, but after a while, the assumptions are built into a house of cards that just can't sustain the author's conclusions. While the author seems to have a good grasp of military history, he's significantly less clear on economic issues.

Unlike many "futurist" tomes, Friedman's objective analysis of wide ranging events processed within the framework of geopolitical thinking, shines through once again in this positively engrossing book. I would encourage the reader/listener to set aside any preconceived notions they might have, and listen carefully to Friedman's thought process.

As the author emphasizes many times, the leaders of any nation are faced with an extremely narrow range of options with which to secure their nation's vital interests. This drives their decision making in ways that are seldom captured effectively by the media or political spin doctors. Check your biases at the door and you will not only learn why international events transpire in the ways that they do, but how to assess and analyze how national transformations and conflicts will likely unfold in the future.

Friedman's writing style is excellent, and I found this particular audiobook to be particularly well narrated by Mr. Hughes. Highly recommended to anyone interested in current/future events.

I listened to the first two hours and then started to skip forward but it did not seem to get any better. I have bought many books from Blackstone Audiobooks and they have all been good or very good. These predictions of the future did nothing to spark my imagination and were generally uninteresting. I have about 30 books in my wish list and I had to spend a credit on this.

This month Bryan Alexander has a terrific article out " Apprehending the Future: Emerging Technologies, from Science Fiction to Campus Reality" in Educause Review Alexander writes about the various methods that we try to understand the future, where Friedman is about scenarios rather then methods. 100 years may seem too far to look ahead, the but the exercise of looking towards the future is one of the best ways we have to understand where we are today. I'd like to see the 100 year lens applied to education and technology. Friedman is all about looking at the next 100 years of geopolitics, of war, and somewhat of the economy.

I have some agreement with Friedman in terms of a coming labor shortage and the massive consequences of a rapidly aging society. I'm not sure if Poland will become the major power that Friedman predicts (but I do agree about Turkey). A fun book to get lost in, a good read for any of us who enjoy predicting the future in our own little worlds.

t's an american-centric view of the world, with forecasts based on historical and geopolitical motivations. Very interesting perspectives, to be taken with a pinch of salt. Good book.

Friedman, the brain behind STRATFOR, a private intelligence service, lays out the next century. This is geo-politics on a grand level. Russia waning, China in turmoil, Poland vs. Turkey, Japanese moon bases, and Mexico reclaiming Texas. It makes me look at today's headlines in a different fashion.

Again, Friedman gives us his best shot (a good one) regarding the tendencies of a populated planet. Sweeping and at the same time humble in his assessments, the reader senses responsible opinions and, as such, they are acceptable and absorbable into his own frame of reference. In other words, the book is quite excellent.

Friedman was the founder of Statfor, a fact that he shys away from in this book. Sratfor gathers intelligence, through a geopolitical perspective, and then provides said intelligence for Fortune 500 companies, U.S. government, and private companies. So, don't feel like this is just another nutjob with a laptop and a world map. All in all, i feel like this is at least interesting, and stimulates the brain cells. I feel like, he may have a few of the details off, but he's on the right track. An amazing book, and eye-opening when so many of us are caught in the day to day news source from liberal media giants, like CNN, and conservative propagandists like Fox. Definately, a good choice.

This was one of the few books that had a tremendous impact on my view of the World. Mr.Friedman clearly explained geopolitics and trends in past European and American history. I understand much better "war on terror" and reasons for war in Iraq and Afganistan and the balance of power. The ideas were logical and well supported. In my mind it "made sense". The true question is what can we do to prepare (and prosper) for those changes? How about part 2 Mr.Friedman?