The World is Flat - Thomas Friedman

First published in 2005.

I am only about 3 years late to the party on this book, but at least I got there. Friedman, the influential New York Times economics etc. columnist followed up his much ballyhooed The Lexus and the Olive Tree with this book, which focuses on the impact of globalization on the world and its impacts on the future of the United States. At this point, some of the epiphanies that were revelatory in 2005 are commonplace (ie widespread wifi access), but the major themes of the book still ring true and are important for parents, policymakers and educators in the USA to grasp. Click below for more FLAT:

Friedman goes to great pains to explain how gloablization and outsourcing came to be...I was more interested in the 'state of the world' and what that means. He clearly lays out his position that globalization is good for the USA, but that future generations will have to work harder to be the driving economy of the world because they will be competing against billions of people, not just Americans, to lead companies and foster innovation. I am not entirely sold on the idea that globalization is good for the US, although I do acknowledge that it is inevitable.

The most interesting thing I have read recently along these lines basically sets forth that China is to America in the 21st century as America was to Western Europe in the 20th century. The article hold that the US is no longer ascendant economically, and the more liberal our policies become the harder it is to innovate while other developing countries aggressively pursue oil and expansion.

The book has long patches where the techno-geek Friedman gets bogged down in the novelty of things, without any interest for the reader (ie the several pages on where the parts for his Dell computer came from....we get it, the world is flat). Part of that problem I think is generational, because things are so novel to him as a boomer that a GenXer just takes for granted. At a lengthy 19 hours on audio CD, this is better in abridged format, if you can find it...I wish I had gone that route.