The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century (Updated and Expanded)

Unabridged
Author: Thomas L. Friedman
Narrator: Oliver Wyman
Genres: Politics, World
Publisher: Audio Renaissance
Date: April 2006
Length: 25 hours
Ratings:
Formats:
  • CD
Abridged
Author: Thomas L. Friedman
Narrator: Oliver Wyman
Genres: History, Self-help
Publisher: Audio Renaissance
Date: April 2006
Length: 9 hours
Ratings:
  • Book Rating: 3.5/5
Formats:
  • CD

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Overview

The Pulitzer Prize-winning "New York Times" columnist gives a bold, timely, and surprising picture of the state of globalization in the twenty-first century
When scholars write the history of the world twenty years from now, and they come to the chapter "Y2K to March 2004," what will they say was the most crucial development? 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, giving them a huge new stake in the success of globalization? And with this "flattening" of the globe, which requires us to run faster in order to stay in place, has the world gotten too small and too fast for human beings and their political systems to adjust in a stable manner? In this brilliant new work, the award-winning New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman demystifies the brave new world, allowing listeners to make sense of the often bewildering global scene unfolding before their eyes. With his inimitable ability to translate complex foreign policy and economic issues, Friedman explains how the flattening of the world happened at the dawn of the twenty-first century; what it means to countries, companies, communities, and individuals; and how governments and societies can, and must, adapt. The World Is Flat is the timely and essential update on globalization, its successes and discontents, powerfully illuminated by one of our most respected journalists.

Selected Reviews

The World is flat

by MC
  • Book Rating: 2/5

global = flat

by pcguy74
  • Book Rating: 4/5

More...

Read All 30

Reviews (30)

The World is flat

Written by MC on August 1st, 2008

  • Book Rating: 2/5

A very long read. This book could have been done in half of the time, I wish I would have rented the abridged version. Many of the factual details were good, but the author really expressed foolish views of the world and how this country fits into the big picture. Especially when discussing politics and our role as the world leader in fighting for freedom and democracy for all.

global = flat

Written by pcguy74 from Oshkosh, WI on July 24th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 4/5

This is an excellent "book". Both the first and the last half are fantastic. There is some repeated information throughout the book but basically that just drives the point home. The world is truly a global marketplace and we certainly can gain or lose from that as individuals. We just need to learn how to shape our thinking and we can prosper in this flat world. I wish it weren't so long of a book, but it is worth the time.

Some interesting content - but too long!

Written by Julia on June 16th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 2/5

Thomas Friedman makes some interesting points in this book, but I agree with previous reviewers that an abridged version would be better! Also, the narrator of this CD had a dreadful habit of using a fake Indian accent when reading quotes from many Indian IT professionals interviewed for this book - this made me cringe everytime he did this. How patronizing! Interestingly he did not attempt a French accent for the French man interviewed!

The World is Flat

Written by Robert Keller on May 31st, 2008

  • Book Rating: 5/5

This was a terrific book! It woke me up to the state of things as they really are in the world today. All high school students and teachers would benefit from reading this book. The stakes are extremely high in this global economy that we are in. This is a wake-up call for all us Americans. We can no longer keep our heads in the sand as the rest of the world is hungry for what we have here in America. I have highly recommended this book to my children and my wife.

Horrible

Written by Andrew H on March 14th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 1/5

This cd sucked. The only thing I learned from listening to this tape was that Thomas Friedman's book is horrible. Listen to something, anything else.

boring

Written by Anonymous on February 29th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 2/5

zzzzzzzz...after the first disc, i popped it back in the box and into the mailbox. too much unecessary information!

The World is flat

Written by Job Foote from Nicktown, PA on February 21st, 2008

  • Book Rating: 4/5

This book is a must read! But, Mr. Friedman is not the best writer. Maybe the abridged version would have been a better choice. I strongly encourage you to listen/read this book.

Boring; hard to listen to

Written by Anonymous on February 14th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 1/5

I found this book boring. The fake female Indian impersonation by the narrator made a mockery of the content. I also thought the point of outsourcing was dragged out for WAY too long.

Must Read

Written by Abhas Agrawal on December 24th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 4/5

We live a world which is changing more rapidly than ever before. If you really want to take advantage of all the changes and come out ahead - read this book! I highly recommend this book to all those who have young children - so that you can well prepare your kids for a flat world!

The Review is Flat

Written by Anonymous on December 17th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 2/5

Some interesting sound bites in the first few hours, but eventually very repetitious. Of the 20 discs, one really only needs to hear the first 3 to get the message of the entire book.

Selected Reviews

The World is flat

by MC
  • Book Rating: 2/5

global = flat

by pcguy74
  • Book Rating: 4/5

More...

Read All 30

Author Details

Author Details

Friedman, Thomas L.

Thomas L. Friedman, a world-renowned author and journalist, joined The New York Times in 1981 as a financial reporter specializing in OPEC- and oil-related news and later served as the chief diplomatic, chief White House, and international economics correspondents. A three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, he has traveled hundreds of thousands of miles reporting the Middle East conflict, the end of the cold war, U.S. domestic politics and foreign policy, international economics, and the worldwide impact of the terrorist threat. His foreign affairs column, which appears twice a week in the Times, is syndicated to one hundred other newspapers worldwide.

Friedman is the author of From Beirut to Jerusalem (FSG, 1989), which won both the National Book Award and the Overseas Press Club Award in 1989 and was on the New York Times bestseller list for nearly twelve months. From Beirut to Jerusalem has been published in more than twenty-seven languages, including Chinese and Japanese, and is now used as a basic textbook on the Middle East in many high schools and universities. Friedman also wrote The Lexus and the Olive Tree (FSG, 1999), one of the best selling business books in 1999, and the winner of the 2000 Overseas Press Club Award for best nonfiction book on foreign policy. It is now available in twenty languages. His last book, Longitudes and Attitudes: Exploring the World After September 11, issued by FSG in 2002, consists of columns Friedman published about September 11 as well as a diary of his private experiences and reflections during his reporting on the post-September world as he traveled from Afghanistan to Israel to Europe to Indonesia to Saudi Arabia. In 2005, The World Is Flat was given the first Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award, and Friedman was named one of America's Best Leaders by U.S. News & World Report.

Friedman graduated summa cum laude from Brandeis University with a degree in Mediterranean studies and received a master's degree in modern Middle East studies from Oxford. He has served as a visiting professor at Harvard University and has been awarded honorary degrees from several U.S. universities. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife, Ann, and their two daughters.