Thomas Friedman has truly outdone himself with this one, this is a fantastic description of how the world has/is evolving. It has truly sparked my interest in outsourcing and provided me with numerous interesting tales to add to the occasional conversation.

This book is very well done. Thomas Friedman has put in alot of time in analyzing this book, it contains alot of information, that definitely get one stimulated and should force one to go on nice long thoughts about how the world is changing. All in all this is a great book though long, it contains some excellent information, i would recommend reading it slowly. Pace urself and u will find it enjoyable.

This book has made me afraid to stay in America. I read the book and now I want to move to china or india so bad.

this book got tedious after awhile. I had to keep my eyes from closing and my mind from running somewhere else while I read. In a sense, he kept retelling what he already said in the beginning and almost all of his interviews are from Indian CEOs or Chinese CEOs. Some of the facts I learned from this book are quite surprising.

While I was reading this book, I was overcome by a really big urge to go up to Pres. Bush and slap him.

Overall I liked this book for only the new facts I learned, but other than that it was pretty tedious.

This is an absolutely fantastic book on globalization and the frightening and inspiring realities of its growing potential. A great piece.

Tom Friedman just makes so much sense.....He takes complex issues and explains things in an easy way. I only wish he worked for our government and had the power of our government in addition to the power of his pen.

This is pretty typical business journalism, which seems to be in the mold of the last round of "sky is falling" business journalism from the 1980's...when Japan was going to rule the world. I thought this book was going to be something new, but its just the same-old, same-old: US jobs are going oversees, we don't have enough engineers, republicans are ruining the country, blah, blah, blah. Also, the book is pretty sloppy: its overly long and redundant, and the "research" is not at all comprehensive or balanced, but mostly just opinion from various business honchos with views biased by their own business interests.

It is written from a very U.S.-centric view of the world, namely that the role of the rest of the world is to do the grunt work that we're too talented and creative to do, and also with a certain amazement that there are people in other countries as smart, or smarter, than us! I find it inconsistent as well, with one chapter lamenting the decline of U.S. science and engineering education and how this will be our downfall in the flat world, and another chapter promoting liberal arts education, and "story telling", as the keys to success in the flat world. Also, the flat world in this tome seems to be made up almost exclusively of IT workers: what about the transportation industry, or other traditional, but still relevant industries?

Overall, an interesting topic with some nice observations, but in need of a major editing and more credible research. Also, it is better viewed as a discussion of trends in IT outsourcing, rather than a map of where the world as a whole is headed.

Friedman is an excellent writer and analyzes the topic of globalization beautifully. Although the book is insightful and in-depth, in general it is flat. The author duplicates most of his points across the book and what could have been a 200-page books becomes much larger. I'm glad to have read this book even though it was a struggle finishing it.

The author sees the world as a level playing field where all countries, companies and individuals need to collaborate to be competitive in a global economy. He explains the ten 'flatteners' that leveled the field and how the 'triple convergence' took it further.

Friedman also argues on why the world could be seen as unflat and what could be done to change that. The concluding chapters discuss the Dell Theory and proposes remedies for America.

A starry-eyed, idealistic, yet analytical, thorough, and inspiring look at the modern world and its future. I highly recommend the book. It's an easy-to-read and entertaining work of journalism full of great insights.

This book was paradigm-shifting and worldview-changing. And I considered myself generally "with it" as far as technology and globalization is concerned.

Friedman is fantastic at showing the world the way it is but revealing all types of processes and events happening in the background that very few people are aware of. He made me realize how ignorant I was without making me feel stupid.

He shares a few words on the future and what we as a country should do, as well as what each of us as individuals should do in order to keep up with global competition and supply-chaining, but the majority of his treatise is on what's happening now and how it's already affecting our world. From outsourcing typical jobs that Americans have relied on for so long, to the revolution of "uploading" and every Tom, Dick and Harry providing their own content that is more easily accessed and more up-to-date than the big content providers, this new flat world is already here, as Friedman points out. It's both exciting and nerve-wracking; and I look forward to more of it while still dreading it a little.

I thought this would be a good book. No new ideas are even presented. Save your money. Let me see if I can sum it up.

China and India are taking wealth from the US due to the fiber optic channels. No kidding.

Everyone has access to information due to the Internet.
OUtsourcing is great for both sides.

America better learn or we're doomed. (I summed it up)

Anyhow, he failed to mention AL GOre invented the internet and we'll all die by global warming soon enough.

Tom Friedman ' s , The World Is Flat , is the consumate synopsis on the "world" we live in today . We live in a world economy , and all nations must adhere to this fact if they are to survive and compete . Anyone living today should read this book---or listen to it on Audio CD which I have done 4 times---so he/she is cognizant of the ever-changing world and the challenges ahead . If you have not read Friedman ' s book you are ( somewhat ) ignorant of the 21st century world .

Very interesting review of the developments of the cybernet revolution and its implications for human development.The remaining question is "What's next"? From "flat" to "point"?!

This book is anything but a broad and well-considered critique of where the author sees us heading. I suppose it can best be viewed as a survival kit for our current century. "Survival" does not inherently make life more interesting, beautiful or purposeful. For the fortunate few who find the projected future particularly adaptive, the life ahead of us might be bright and rosy. But for the many, it could simply spell out a higher level of consumerism and considerable ennui.

On the plus side Mr. Friedman manages to provoke the reader into a speculative frame of mind and a critique of our evolving world -- should "it" manage to survive! In the pursuit of an affordable future for most of us and a frantic pursuit for wealth-maintenance by the few, will traditional quality of life issues continue to even get addressed, let alone preserved? Can we afford to treat global war(n)ing as somewhat of a side issue while its growing impact creeps down the coastline of the Americas and threatens more havoc. If the world economy is becoming so robust, why can't we solve the energy and environmental crises and possibly save future humanity? What does the current failing in this regard reflect about contemporary human values and real quality of life issues?

Overall, I found the book to be a vivid and accurate depiction of where we are and where we are heading - certainly worth reading. But there is a paucity of philosophical underpinnings that weakens the foundation for projecting a vastly brighter future ahead of us.

This book would have been much better if it had been kept to 200-250 pages. I am disappointed in myself that I kept reading the same thing over and over thinking that eventually some new content would appear. It was tedious how the author had to point out how many famous people he knew. To some extent, this can add credibility, but it was taken to extreme levels in this book.

The book is very partisan, blaming republicans for many problems without making a very strong link. Far from a fair and balanced analysis.

That said, the book is a good summary of technological developments in the last 10-15 years. There were some good insights, however, I can't wholeheartedly recommend given how repetitive the book is.

This book is an eye-poping-opener to what is happening in the history of economics. This was a mandatory read to the completion of my college degree because most industry leaders have read and believe it. The truth is most industry workers will have to compete for their job internationally. However I like to believe the other side of the coin as Friedman's views are negative towards America's position. After recently touring a secured industry compound a material physicist told me, "We're sending them the 20th Century and building the 21st for ourselves."

Council on Foreign Relations propaganda minister Thomas Friedman writes a decent book trying to convince us that globalization is a great thing. Depends who you are, I suppose. CFR members will do great as part of the world oligarchy. Regular shmoes will enjoy the thrills of competing with factory workers from third world countries who work for 10 dollars a week. Hahaha. Can't blame him though, Friedman's smart enough to play for the winning team. The way to get ahead in the world is figure out who's in charge, then work to advance their agenda.

When I first started reading this book I did not know what to expect. "The World is Flat"? Once I got into it I realized what Friedman was saying. I really enjoyed reading this book. I really liked how Friedman referred to the globalization as "leveling the playing field". I had never really thought of it that way up until now. He really opened my eyes to a lot of new things. Friedman brings you a real life encounter on how technology has affected our culture. I never realized how "flat" the world was actually becoming, until I read this book. I never realized just how many services could be outsourced and how many jobs go overseas. Friedman points out some very interesting services that are outsourced. One example was that when you get an x-ray it could be sent overseas and reviewed by another doctor! There were many services that I had no idea that they could be outsourced.
Friedman really puts it into perspective when he lists the different things that are causing the world to become a flat one. He lists several different occurrences that are leading us to a flatter world. This book also opens your eyes to where you stand in this flattening world. Friedman speaks about making yourself more valuable, because there is a lot more competition now. It is not just sufficient to be expertly skilled in one area, but we need to broaden our skills so that we are more valuable.
This book points out many factors that are leading us to a flatter world. Most of them have to do with technology and communication. If these were the only factors to be concerned with then the world would be a flat one, but there are many more. Friedman points out the factors that will keep the world from being flat. He points out that there are still many countries that do not have this concept of technology. Technology is not what they are concerned with each day. Instead they are concerned with surviving and providing for their families. Our world will never truly be flat until we ALL have the opportunity to take advantage of technology and communication.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. The above were just some of the things that I took from my reading. I think that this was a surprising concept. I would have never realized this concept of a flat world if I had not read this book. I think that it is a very good idea on how the world is changing tremendously due to technology. Of course there are a few points that I don't agree with. In one part of the book he compares O.J. Simpson trial and the attacks of 9/11, which I thought was a poor choice. However, as a whole, I think that this book is definitely worth reading. You would be surprised just how much you did not know about globalization. This book was used in our technology and culture class, and I think that this was a great example of how they affect each other.

I think that this book is very interesting its help readersget knowledge about the world and globalization.In this book the othor talked about how technology will be overcoming old jobs and spawning new, more complex ones, much faster than during the transition from the agricultural economy to the industrial one. Every time you as a consumer make a decision, you are supporting a whole set of values.Friedman thinks that people voting about the barriers and friction you want to preserve or eliminate when it comes to politics.For instance the author Friedman talked about how Globalization went from globalization industries to globalization individuals. I think he meant say that long before Companies was trying to take their businesses to the other part of the world . Another part of this book that I really liked was what he said about outsourcing . He said that Outsourcing is comon to every company. Companies are looking for cheap labor and those who are willing to work hard for a little salary are India and China waiting to get job.
Another part of this chapter that cought my attention was when the made comparison of his parents used to tell him when he was a kid and what he tells now his own kids. He said that used to tell him"Tom finish your dinner people in China and India are starving. But now he tells his kids to finish their homework because People in India anb China are starving to get their Jobs.I think that Friedman want to make it clear to his readers that outsourcing is problem that will face genereation to come.
Anyone who want to know much more about how the world are so connected should read this book

My manager purchased this book a couple years ago and recommended it but at the time I had no interest. I just completed a 'Technology & Culture' online course which featured this book as our text. At first, I was a bit skeptical but after the first couple chapters, I knew exactly why our professor chose this book. It is very appropriate for the course topic (Technology & Culture) in addition to being very relevant for college students, professionals and parents, both young and old.

The author does a great job of making the content interesting through real world examples with bits of humor thrown in. The humor is a great addition as some chapters paint a very gloomy picture. This book explains globalization from the international as well as the American perspective. It appeals to your compassion for others, your patriotism and your own fears and desires for yourself and your children.

The most important feature of this book is that it enables you to prepare yourself and/or your children for a flatter world. How you approach education, training and planning for the future should take into account how the world is flattening. Closing your eyes and hoping it will go away isn't an option. Technology and the flattening it makes possible have happened, are happening and will continue well into the future. In order to prepare for these changes, you should educate yourself. This book is a great tool to jump start that process. While it doesn't answer every question and actually raises many more than it answers...it opens your eyes to pros and cons of globalization. Prior to reading this book, I was pro protectionism. Now, I think that would be a very costly mistake.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to better understand how technology is affecting our culture, our economy and our world. It is a good and valuable read.

I think this book is OK but far from complete, Let see here..

Pros -
- Comparatively detailed analysis on offshoring, near-shore centers.
- Explains well about the corporate needs - References to Dell, Wal-Mart and explain why they need it (including supply chain). Both are good examples today's corporate operating modalities.
- Gives a new perspective of offshoring, if you look at carefully. With the economic dynamics of developing nations, the offshoring model will continue to exist, BUT it may not be just one country/continent - It will go where most cost effective.

Cons -
- I'm not sure why so much references to Al-Qaida, baffles why economic book need so much reference about this org - not much helping to point. It's just verbose
- Too much optimism added on the offshoring/India, but there are places where it burned the US corporations. This shows shallow view on the Authors understanding in Indian model.
- Too much reference quite a few companies
- Nothing specific about where the offshore will move to next generation of it, just explains current and past - More like a history text rather than future vision incubator.

- Suria

This is the Bible on globalization. Friedman not only writes well, but does so on this very important subject. He states, "It is now possible for more people than ever to collaborate and compete in real time with more people on more different kinds of work from more different corners of the planet and on a more equal footing than at any previous time in the history of the world."

What is more sobering is Friedman's elaboration on Bill Gates' statement, "When I compare our high schools to what I see when I'm traveling abroad, I am terrified for our work force of tomorrow. In math and science, our fourth graders are among the top students in the world. By eighth grade, they're in the middle of the pack. By 12th grade, U.S. students are scoring near the bottom of all industrialized nations. . . . The percentage of a population with a college degree is important, but so are sheer numbers. In 2001, India graduated almost a million more students from college than the United States did. China graduates twice as many students with bachelor's degrees as the U.S., and they have six times as many graduates majoring in engineering. In the international competition to have the biggest and best supply of knowledge workers, America is falling behind."

This is Friedman's main point. He sees a dangerous complacency, from Washington down through the public school system. Students are no longer motivated. "In China today, Bill Gates is Britney Spears. In America today, Britney Spears is Britney Spears--and that is our problem."

America is losing its edge--a point that is also very well stated in Fareed Zakaria's The Post-American World.

We are in a changed world! And Friedman brought it out so beautifully well.

He talks of 10 flatterners, that are so beautifully related to what we see today. One world, one people. The beauty of the author is that he integrates very logically on how the 10 events in history have contributed to what we see today. for e.,g how fall of berlin wall or even the .com burst, helped flatten the world.

A must read and Friedman does have a way of capturing the audience.

This book has a variety of flaws, and the parts that are not satisfying to read almost made me lean toward 4 or even 3 stars, but on the whole it is still fully deserving of 5 stars. An example of something I did not like is the excessive ramblings on Arabs and terrorism, which form part of the presumably new chapters that Friedman hastily slapped to the end of the book to address criticisms and shortcomings in prior editions (or so I imagine). These final chapters are laced with such seemingly inappropriate stretches that are far from the eloquent, structured style of the rest of the book.

Nevertheless, it is indeed in general a fairly well researched, eye-opening account of the perils and promises of globalization.

The World is Flat is a great and thorough examination of what is currently going on in the world in regards to globalization. It starts out with a bleak portrait of America's economic future and lists the many factors leading to this demise. The book then takes us through the many factors that lead to what Friedman calls "a flat world." As the text continues Friedman explains how other countries are benefiting from a shrinking world via the technology that is available. He lists how some countries that are not rich in natural resources are mining the brains and strong work ethic of its populace. Friedman breaks down the current winners and losers of globalization and lists the factors and contributors of why certain groups seem to win so easily and others are barely winning and others seem to be losing. He does a great job of detailing the inhibitors and accelerants of economic growth in both 3rd world countries and even modern day America. He lists those factors out in great detail explaining why and how they affect the economic growth and shrinkage of countries. This book could serve as a guide to developing nations around the world as a National economic growth guide for dummies. The book ends with the author explaining how computers and the Internet are changing our world is changing around us. He spends some time prognosticating the future that our children and their children will inherit. Overall the book ends on a positive not that globalization will be as good for America as for the rest of the world. We will either adapt and thrive or die a slow economic death.

I am still reading this book to help me understand why both my daughter and son-in-law both lost their jobs after working for the same company for over 20 years. The book explains from the beginning how this country got into this mess with outsourcing and even though it does not make me feel better, it does a lot to help me underdstand HOW it happened. It is great reading for those who would like to know.

I have to admit I am not one to read books relating to globalizations and technology, but after reading the first few pages I was trapped into wanting to read more. If the book had not been a requirement for a recent course taken I would have never imagined I would have read this book. There were always several books about which I felt more enthusiastic.
But this is one I'm glad I did come across purchase and read. I admire the amount of travel and listening and work that Friedman has put into the book. He has a knack for anecdote. He has a liking for imagery, and most of his images work well. Here's an example, illustrating the importance of technical standards. "Imagine a city where every neighborhood had a different interface for connecting the fire hose to the hydrant."
Globalization is, literally, a large and far-reaching topic. In writing a book on globalization including prescription, as well as description, does Friedman overreach? He is aware of the danger of doing so when discussing education, telling us that "I am not an educator" and that he doesn't want to "be utterly presumptuous."
But, in discussing "intellectual property," Friedman doesn't appear to have any such qualms. The person who sounds like the voice of reason in Friedman's account is Sam Palmisano of IBM; his quote (p. 254) is misleading as to the purpose of IP laws, and in a manner very much favoring patent-holders such as IBM.
For overreaching like this, and for other reasons, I do believe that The World Is Flat deserves some of the more extravagant praise heaped on it. In particular, it's a great book. It's a book I'd recommend to someone looking for a journalist-written account of globalization and for anyone who is interested in reading a awesome book that you can not put down after reading the first few pages. It's definitely a book that many people have read and are talking about. It's on an important subject that is constantly on the minds of all us each and everyday. And I would have to highly recommend this book and give it well deserved thumbs up!

"The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman is one of the most thought provoking books I have read. He talks about the way the world has been flattened by the Internet, technology and innovative thinking. The process of many of the services in America being outsourced to other countries is explained. I did not understand how this all happened. He goes step by step and explains his theory on this phenomenon. The fact that so many jobs are being outsourced to other countries is distressing, but he also touches on ways to change our thinking to keep up and keep our jobs or develop a new type of job or service.

The world has changed and thinking out of the box needs to be more of the norm and not the exception is America is going to excel. The problems with the education system in America is highlighted as well as what other countries are doing that has their children getting into the best schools in the world. This book made me think more about how the world is now and what I can do to help make it better as an individual, a parent and an American. I think you will be intrigued as I was reading this book if you keep an open mind and look at the possibilities available in the world today.

The contents were great! I love the way Friedman writes. I have an easier time with periodicals though because the book seems too long for it's content.

A great walkthrough about where we were, where we are and where we heading ! I believe the IT crowd will enjoy reading this more than a normal reader, although it does very well in explaining many of the technological events in history and how the world is developing so fast. Want to be successful or want to stay successful in what you are doing, then this is a must read !
Globalization, its everywhere.

I found little or nothing new in this book, and I doubt that anyone who has paid even moderate attention to technology and the world economy over the last 10-15 years will either. And the whole idea of the world becoming flatter is in no meaningful way different than the ages old idea that the world is getting smaller! We're all more immediately and tightly connected because of the internet, PCs, greatly expanded communications bandwidth, etc. etc. - we get it. It's not a particularly original, revolutionary or 'ingenious' insight

I think the author is a fine columnist and I read him quite often, but this book seems way overrated to me.

I found little or nothing new in this book, and I doubt that anyone who has paid even moderate attention to technology and the world economy over the last 10-15 years will either. And the whole idea of the world becoming flatter is not meaningfully different than the ages old idea that the world is getting smaller. We're all more immediately and tightly connected due to the internet, PCs, greatly expanded communications bandwidth, etc. etc. - we get it.

I think the author is a fine columnist and I read him quite often, but this book seems way overrated to me.

Thomas Friedman is one of the best thinkers of this century... ahead of his time and really well spoken, making an ordinary person understand a complicated world

I recently read this book, and at first liked the creative look at countries such as India and China. However, I think that towards the end of the book, that any objectivity was charred by his assault on Arab countries. Sure, it's true to say that Arab countries are far from leading the world in high-tech, and that in some countries the regimes limit people's chances. However, Friedman completely forgot to mention thriving economies such as UAE (Dubai) and Quatar - both of which are currently progressing at a better pace than the US ! After working in research for my years, I can certainly say that a majority of my colleagues were non-white foreigners, who maintained the University's /research institute's five star status. Quite the contrary to Mr. Friedman's views.
To say something positive about Mr. Friedman's book, I would say that he has correctly identified the need for the youth of today to study science and engineering, and to generally 'get an interest' in science. However, once again, he fails to objectively examine the failings of the Western education systems, and says almost nothing about why Indians and Chinese are more 'abled' in writing software or undertaking product development - the answer's simple: They have a better education system, silly !

The World is Flat - Thomas Friedman
"What else but sensationalism could you expect from an American Journalist" My friend commented when I told him I was on a most sensational book by New York Times' Thomas Friedman. I thank my friend and my kids favorite 4th Grade teacher Michael Citrino to have recommended "The World is Flat" which has introduced me to a rapidly flattening world, of which I am a part, oblivious of the changes around me.
In this book Mr. Friedman as an investigative journalist starts telling the history from the 11/9fall of the Berlin Wall, and walks his reader through today. To keep pace with the rapid scientific development in the 20th century, and to afford production, we desperately needed to control costs. Its simplest way, but impossible to achieve in the post world war era, was to have a world based market. It was after the fall of the Berlin wall that India moved towards capitalism and China followed suit and then the newly liberated Russian states. Accompanying the fall of the socialist economic system came the information highway spanning the world, crossing the oceans & deserts connecting practically anybody with every body. These change have changed the way the world lives because more than 70% of world lives on this side of the world.
With the latest IT connectivity an essentially untapped, technically educated cheap, labor resource of East has become accessible to the west, without binds of visas and travel needs, through outsourcing. When we talk of outsourcing it is not only data management, accounting or medical transcription but live call customer care centers & help lines for computer companies, telecom giants, Airlines booking and baggage claims to after hour emergency radiological reporting of MRI and CT scans just to name a few. As I look at things the new millennium America reaches farther out on the globe, than the British East India Company of the last century, without looking ugly.
Mr. Friedman effectively also establishes that Americans looking at outsourcing negatively are wrong. People used to live under socialism, make excellent honey bees at work and it is the Americans who need to improve their adaptability to the new job requirements, of the better connected world, if they wish to continue being the queen bees. If they continue to be the innovators they can capitalize on the newly created high salaried jobs and the overall living standard is bound to improve, rather than deteriorate in USA, as publicized by some.
This outsourcing is not only about financial benefits but is affecting a canvas much bigger. China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Ireland, Hungary, Mexico and India along many others have gotten together as partners of the world IT industry. Now they have to balance positive material gains of peace to results of negative emotional outbursts. Can one believe that the outsourced U.S. business to India played a part in averting the 2002 India Pakistan war? Obviously in the flat world if a political leader tries to sell the need of nuclear or military deterrence to his nation, he is calling a lame bluff.
In this great book Mr. Friedman tells us about so many visible flatteners of the world that one has to believe. These days a country's financial viability is calculated if it is a Mc Donald country or not. Interestingly while UN is failing to improve and protect the world ecology, McDonalds has succeeded in pushing its suppliers the world over to change to eco-friendly food production and recycling policies. How Wall Mart is educating and sharing technology with its suppliers, again the world over and innovatively cutting cost and stream lining its delivery and distribution networks using "IT" is a different theme. UPS silently becoming "the friendly neighborhood courier" is another eye opener. Now it is UPS men who fix Toshiba laptops helping Toshiba improve its customer relations fixing an undependable after sales service system . How UPS has helped trouble shoot the distribution network for Ford's fixing its dealer relations is mind boggling. Now it not only handles Ford's distribution but also advises on Ford on production line priorities. UPS backs up every shopkeeper of Amazon and e-bay. E-bay and Amazon.coms in their turn have allowed the common world citizen (not only a US citizen) to fulfill the dream of trying luck at business without forsaking a stable job. Through e-marketing small entrepreneurs can develop personal outlets with a world wide customer base. The investment requirement is minimal, at which even in the third world no body can imagine to start any business.
The story of Steve Jobs is of extreme perseverance commanding extreme success. He has rewritten history regaining the position of CEO of his brainchild "Apple" creating media giants like Pixar en-route. How Rolls Royce Rolls has survived, not stopping being the car maker for the filthy rich but becoming an intelligent engine provider for the aviation industry, helping airlines and travelers save millions of dollars and work hours describes the will to play big game encashing the goodwill attached to it. Jordanian Ghandoor's readiness to accept the challenge of developing an Arab World courier and changing it into "Aramex" growing big enough to threaten the long established leaders in courier industry proves that the flat world is not only to benefit the first world rich but anyone who has the guts to tackle issues upfront.
Jet Blue and South West Airlines innovative CEO has substituted outsourcing with home sourcing empowering American housewives improving national productivity rather than banking on foreign workforce. Financing Bengali housewives Prof Younus has challenged modern capitalistic banking with his micro credit banking. Against the norms, working without lot of paperwork or collaterals this professor of economics is turning around millions of dollars, in small loans, with a 98% recovery rate from people who have no credit history but are credit worthy.
The development story of Mr. Friedman's own Dell Inspiron laptop as it could possibly involve many countries and multiple suppliers from each country providing each part is foretells a romantic future. In the world of Dell its only quality that matters and each anonymous chip and bit is as good as long its packed in a Dell. One can hope that all members of the human race, as long as they are packed in the same packing by one standard retailer, be one day accepted similarly, which of the flat world is a logical outcome. We shouldn't be rejected because of our sex, race or religion. If we can fit under the lid of God's quality seal we should be accepted as quality.
Thomas's description of the un-flat world, where he uses a not so remote village in the Indian south, is poetic. He carries his reader on a passionate journey "these children at four and five don't know what it is to have a drink of clean water...used to drinking filthy gutter water, if they are lucky to have a gutter nearby", "India is shining okay for glossy magazines but if you go just outside Bangalore...female infanticide and crime are rising", "middle and upper classes are rising but the seven hundred million who are left behind...the only thing that shines for them is the sun, and it is hot and unbearable and too many of them die of heat stroke." "The only "mouse" these kids have ever encountered is not the one that sits next to the computer but the real thing."
Thomas is an ardent believer in the freedom offered by the democratic capitalism of America and is intrigued by the way it is being accepted all over the world. Rightly worried he describes how the flat world is not only benefitting by teaming cheap labor with better income opportunities but the communication highway is also freely available and being used by the negative forces. It is scary to know with what ease fanatics in the flat world can not only open bank accounts, transfer funds internationally, enter flying schools but if they wish to, even rent 747 aircrafts.
Talking about this un-flattening effect I feel Mr. Friedman falters. He mentions the abuse of internet & media to spread rumors of Jews not going to work at WTC on 9/11 but misses to mention the unflattering effects of fabricated video clips displayed by CNN of Arab's celebrating the 9/11's disaster. Jews absence from WTC is being investigated by FBI but CNN has accepted running old reels of some Arab festivity. Probably Tom is just as human as any of us and his religious affiliations need to be given room. Discussing the plight of Muslims be it in India or Palestine to me he seems shortsighted stuck with many misconceptions. To him Muslim's irrational behaviors stems from the lost dominance they enjoyed over earth centuries ago, which again according to him, they consider their divine right. As a Muslim I would reiterate that we do believe that the best social & financial setup for the world is Islam but one very different from that being practiced by most of Muslim rulers and preached by most religious pundits of the day. The Holy Quran tells us that unjust and incompetent rulers will be replaced with able and fair rulers and we appreciate that for one reason or another Muslim leadership of today are not quality material and have justly been replaced by God's will.
Tom considers the humiliation of being stripped at the check points as a stimulant force behind the suicide bombings by Palestinian youth and refuses to register the effects of Israeli tanks following and bombing hideouts of kids hurling stones at them. Pitching in I would share what few days back a Palestinian colleague at a medical meet told me. His dad experienced severe Angina few days back and when they tried to rush him to the hospital there were some 3 checkpoints where after standing in the lines for over two hours the old man instructed his children to drive him home where he could die in the arms of his sister. Incidences like this, not infrequent in Palestine, justify more extreme expression of frustration rather than any personal humiliation.
Mr. Friedman considers India an example of democracy where all have equal rights, job & business opportunities but he is unaware that Indian minorities bowed to forceful alienation of Goa, Hyderabad, Junagarh etc in addition to Kashmir soon after deaths of Gandhi and Jinnah. Mr. Friedman considers Indian minorities and women empowered and liberated but his best evidence is having viewed an Ex-Bollywood queen thrashing a prayer leader of Delhi on TV. He probably doesn't know that Muslims make more than 33%of Indian population but only 2-3 Muslims get to the legislative council. The offices given to Muslims, Sikhs & Christians, in my opinion, are ceremonial and nothing more than eye wash.
My friends ask me how do I compare The World is Flat to my other recently read favorite " Three cups of tea" by Greg Mortenson. Both are about the flat world but are very different. Friedman talks about the flat world but Greg is making the world flat. He is providing education to kids, especially girls, declared doomed by the mountain gods in the most distant& difficult to access northern areas of Pakistan. Greg not only arranges finances and constructs schools but actually has helped construct bridges over impossible to cross mountainous ravines to take schools to disconnected areas of the Himalayas. To me Greg Mortenson is a history creator without a hint of racism but Friedman is a story teller who writes with passion, investigates with zeal but fails to mask his prejudices. I think Thomas Friedman should understand that something "on" CNN or Fox or printed in The New York times, has a very short life while a history book is expected to live at least as long as history.
Then I asked this question to myself "Do I like the flat world?" Definitely, most certainly, but I am not too sure if Thomas's flat world is here to last. The passion with which Greg is flattening the world, has roots. The flattening described by Tom is being built out of necessity. Bill & Malissa Gates foundation's fight against Malaria and attempts to make the World more live able are positive phenomenon but I wish we saw more of these connecting the rich and poor. I feel the capitalistic west is reaching out to the un-resourceful east to cut costs only and everybody in east, awed by the benefits of material gains is competing to get whatever size of pie they can get. Once this stops happening i.e. when East becomes mindful of its old values and the west gets to appreciates valueless ness of material gains, which probably is beginning to happen, then what?
"It takes to be an exceptionally good journalist to keep your sensory system on high alert for 600+ pages" was my reply to my friend and I am sure readers of this review will agree with me and definitely so if they get hold of "The world is flat" which will not let go of them till they finish it.

Friedman brings it all into focus with his easy style and keen insight into the nature of globalism, trade, technology and the state of America. Highly recommended.

The first 300 pages of the book is OK.

The later part, especially when talking about foreign developing countries, author gives an impression of ignorance and arrogance, however. The funny combination of "being ignorant" and "being arrogant" embodied together in the author makes the book deserve only the lowest rate.

Specifically, when author "criticizes" China, it's obvious that author is short of a reasonably enough knowledge and understanding on the Chinese history and cultural, political, and economical systems. He writes on something that he doesn't know and understand at all.

Ignorance plus arrogance, there can't be anything worse than that for a book writer.

From what he talks about Bill Gates, again, his ignorance, be it intentional or not, shows up.

Like it or not, this book has helped dilate our global perspective. I personally say "YES" to many of his thoughts in this book. Though it sounds too idealistic, demographically, I still agree that one day, the environmental health threats of "megacity" due to the demography shift will be reduced significantly. This is because people do not need to migrate for a better place to live. This very fast globalization process have made our world very close to be homogeneous, in term of internet technology, telecommunication, travel facilities, etc - that makes people feel comfortable with where they belong to live at.

Individually, people have been yearning to get out from the pain of "dehumanization process" due to the excessive demand of life. People in the more developed countries (MDC) have to work more for the bills than for the family. Majority of us are bound to pay the mortgage, credit cards, student loan and other debts -even though physically it seems that we are happier with all the fancy facilities we have in comparison with what people in the less developed countries (LDCs) have. We, in our MDC wants more than what we need. It is about time for us to response to the higher call of life as to live in a "homesotasis" state of life - non excessive nor lack of.

I remember long long time ago when I was still live in my birth country (less developed country), many of people in my country as well other people from the less developed countries, would dream and do anything to come to this country with honey and milk. Now, the paradigm is significantly shifted in opposite ways. People from more developed countries would love to demographically shift to the third world country (bringing their early retirement money) for cheaper living expenses and less demanding lifestyle.

In corporate point of view, opportunity to utilize cheaper labors with same quality from India, China, and other places have helped this process of flatting the world. We must admit our surprise of all the numerical figures presented by this book from cost efficiency, telemarketing outside our country, how many of our taxes and billing system have been taken care from India, etc.

Many more to says, but one thing I would like to emphasize as my personal conclusion is that we are alarming by this book to be ready for this process of the flattening of the world in many arenas of our life.

Julie Kiler, CA

This is a great book to read. it talks all about what is happening at present and its impact on our future. i tells how to prepare american and world society for the future. really inspiring...!

With information moving at the speed of light and a huge transportation network connecting virtually any dots in the planet, Thomas Friedman provides a clever insight into globalization. In short it means that a service or a product should be produced wherever it's most efficient that the whole world benefits from that. Of course, there are some adjustments necessary as this puts a lot of forces and pressures for capital, market and job shifts. One caveat though - and not explored in the book - is that globalization of products relies on a cheap source of transportation energy. With oil prices climbing really fast, either a competitive alternative is found, or the globalization of products may be compromised. Highly recommended for the insight and entertainment of thought.

What an outstanding book! Don't be fooled by the size of the book as you'll breeze right through it. It is one of the most fast-paced and highly informative historical perspective on business, past, present and future. I learned so much in this book about outsourcing, insourcing, and about all the ideas that have shaped and continuing to change the world. Fascinating book.

In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed from Spain to India, taking a westerly route across the Atlantic, thinking it would be easier to go round the back of the world to reach India instead of going pass the dangerous Cape of Good Hope. He only reached West Indies but proved that the world is round. In 2005, Thomas Friedman took a plane from America and headed east to India, trying to figure out that the world is flat, globalized and without barriers.

There was a time when the world was round and far away places beyond the horizon could not be seen, and then it was globalized and flattened. It was a long process relative to modernization. Thomas Friedman perceived three versions of globalization starting from the exploration of Christopher Columbus. From 1492 to about 1800, it was Globalization 1.0. It was about countries and muscles, and about countries exploring the new world. Countries were forcing their way to trade with the new world and colonization. The primary question was about how did a country fit into the global competition and opportunities. Globalization 1.0 shrank the world from a size large to a size medium.

The second era, Globalization 2.0, lasted from 1800 to 2000. It shrank the world from medium size to small. The key agent of change, and the dynamic force driving global integration was multinational companies, driven by first the falling transportation costs, and then by the falling telecommunication costs. It was the birth and then the maturation of global economy with sufficient movement of goods and information between continents, thus creating a global market.

Globalized 3.0 took off around 2000 and shrank the world from small to tiny, and flattening the playing field at the same time. With the movement of information improved so drastically that it empowered the individuals to participate in the globalization. While the dynamic force in Globalization 1.0 was countries competing, and that in Globalization 2.0 was companies competing, we find in Globalization 3.0 the power for individuals to collaborate and compete globally. Thomas Friedman saw ten forces that flattened the world and led to Globalization 3.0.

Flattener No. 1 - The 9th November 1989, when the Berlin Wall came down. This event was not just about the wall, but the collapse of the Soviet Union. The result was the end of the cold war and the opening up of the entire Soviet Bloc. In a sense, the world view was expanded and the two worlds became one.

Flattener No. 2 - 9th August 1995, when Netscape went public. Netscape was a symbol for web browsers, among many competitors. The success of Netscape in 1995 marked an important phase in computing that the PC-based computing platform was changed to an Internet-based platform. Millions of computers then integrated on the Internet and were working under global networks.

Flattener No. 3 - Work Flow software. With the Internet connecting people to people, and people to their own applications, there came the proliferation of work flow software which directly connected applications to applications. Such software enables applications in different locations of the world to work together as one.

Flattener No. 4 - Open-sourcing, the self-organizing collaborative communities. They are more than Linux, Apache and OpenOffice, but include many freeware and user-based projects. It is an important flattener because it makes available many free tools, from software to encyclopedias, to millions of people around the world. The open-source approach challenges hierarchical structure with a horizontal model of innovation.

Flattener No. 5 - Outsourcing, starting from Y2K. The chain of events leading to the present state of outsourcing to India is interesting. It started in 1951 when India under Nahru established seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) for educating elites in sciences, engineering and medicine. IIT were very successful in producing large number of talents. However, India did not have sufficient jobs for them. Came Y2K, there was a crisis on software maintenance and USA was much in need of knowledgeable hands for the job. Many talented Indian engineers were recruited by American consulting firms to handle the work. When the Y2K crisis was over, many Indian engineers returned home, but contacts had been established. In parallel, the IT boom created a large demand in telecommunication and many companies invested heavily in laying cross-continent optical fiber connections. The IT bubble then burst, and the costs of using the now over-supplied high speed connections fell drastically, making broadband connection between India and USA exceptionally cheap. When IT demand picked up again, Indian engineers, many worked in USA on Y2K work, were again in demand. With convenient telecommunication and work flow software, they found it easy to work remotely in India serving American firms, earning a good salary which was very cheap at the American level, while living at home Indian style. Thus began the vast out-sourcing centres in India, and also in many other developing countries.

Flattener No. 6 - Offshoring. On 11th December 2001, China formally joined WTO. It meant China was agreeing in principle to make its own competitive playing field as level as the rest of the world. Offshoring of manufacturing to China, Russia and some developing countries became commonplace. Friedman quoted an African proverb on the competition: a gazelle must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed; a lion must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death; it doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle, you'd better start running. The movement of goods around the globe is so convenient and without barrier that it makes offshoring a flattening tool. There was a group of American CEO discussing the production of their companies. All but one had already set up production plants in China. Everyone agreed that this lone company would be the first to go bankrupt.

Flattener No. 7 - Supply-chaining. Large companies are now able to commandeer their suppliers around the world for just-in-time supplies to stock store shelves and to meet production needs. Walmart has a worldwide system connecting its suppliers and a hub in Arkansas to receive supplies and despatch goods to its outlets. Friedman also quoted an example based on his experience of ordering a notebook computer. His telephone order was taken by a call centre in India and was relaid to a production plant in Malaysia. The parts for building the computer were automatically ordered from more than 30 suppliers in many different countries which automatically adjusted their stocks and delivered the required parts to the plant at the exact time. A Malaysian technician assembled the computer, tested it, and despatched it through UPS across the Pacific to Friedman's home. These were all done within a few days.

Flattener No. 8 - Insourcing. You may think that the flattened world allows a company to outsource some of its backroom functions, offshore its production, and better collaborate with its suppliers, but the bottom line is that the company still has to maintain a shop front and client relations. Come insourcing, and this may have changed. Friedman quoted the example of UPS which has transformed itself from delivery service to a client network for other companies. With teams of UPS staff regularly contacting citizens physically on a daily basis, UPS expanded its services to cover the delivery of goods for companies to their clients, and at the same time handled the billing and collection of payment of cash or credit cards. A company can focus on its core business and leave all the peripheral functions to other contractors around the world.

Flattener No. 9 - Informing. Think Google, Yahoo, MSN. In a flat world, information is just a few keystrokes away. Besides knowledge you would like to seek, there are many other information about almost everything and everyone if you care to search. In the age of superpower search, everyone is a celebrity. There is no class boundaries or education boundaries.

Flattener No. 10 - The steroids. The steroids that empower the individuals to take advantage of the availability of information and immediate communication in the flat world are the modern age equipment which is digital, mobile, personal and virtual. These include mobile phone, notebook computer and PDA. The up-to-date models of these digital equipment are wireless and can communicate with the world instantaneously. Their personal and mobile nature enables individuals to collaborate and compete in the flat world with their virtual presence anywhere anytime.

I find the above observations of Thomas Friedman quite narrow for the topic of globalization. It is heavily IT-based and American-based. The book mentions some modern factors concerning globalization which affect the American way, but leaves out the grave impact of the global finance and politics. However, the ten flatteners only occupy one-third of the book and are merely an introduction. I shall record his other views in the next round of notes.

The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman is one of the best books I've read on where we are and where we are likely to go, since Future Shock. The speed that technology has added to the evolution of civilizations is at once exciting and frightening. Those who thought the old ways would last forever, or at least through their lifetimes, were wrong. Nowadays the far off future seems to hit us in the face on a daily basis. New discoveries in science and abrupt changes in global politics twist around us creating ideas the size of hurricanes. Friedman has done a masterful job of sifting through the information and picking out what is relevant, but more important he has written a book that can easily be understood by almost anyone. Too many books attempting to describe the complex conditions of today's world are written by and for scholars of one type or another and the everyday man and woman who desperately need to be informed aren't. This is one of those precious books that entertain, educate and inform you. It will make you proud and ashamed, frightened and hopeful, all at the same time.

Great as an audio book to look at events and technology that make competition global....think globally and act locally...

Tom Friedman is obviously a broad thinker in the true sense. What was great, and yes I have read most of the criticism of his work, is that if you open your mind perhaps you begin to start questioning why some groups or societies have stagnated. Are there problems with expansion and jobs loss, absolutely, but what history it seems has taught us over the last 10,000 years is that we are constantly searching, exploring and expanding. I found most interesting is the chapters on the education system in the US and how science, math needs retooling.
The book made me want to sit down with him to ask him a few questions...

The book is absolutely new and reached me exactly in two days as per the Amazon free two-day shipping.

This book is the usual egghead type book. "The World is Flat" is a term the author coins to explain how the little guy can now compete internationally and other such "discoveries." This book is similiar to his earlier work, states the obvious to anyone that uses a computer, and probably looked great on his university evaluation. It's an OK read if you're not waiting to read something else.

I've read this book. The ideas are not new, and can be found elsewhere. It is still alright if the book can present the same ideas from a fresh perspective. But it didn't. It is too long winded. Everything can be distilled into 100 pages at most. I like ideas presented clearly and concisely. I hardly extracted anything of value from the book. In short it is a waste of time.