Title: The World is Flat 3.0

Author: Thomas Friedman

Publisher: Picador 2007

Genre: Nonfiction -- Economics, Business

Pages: 660

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nerdy Nonfiction -- Business; Mount TBR; Book Bingo -- 3 rereads; Nonfiction Adventure; Fall into Reading

How I Got It: I own it!

"One mark of a great book is that it makes you see things in a new way, and Mr. Friedman certainly succeeds in that goal," the Nobel laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz wrote inThe New York Times reviewing The World Is Flat in 2005. In this new edition, Thomas L. Friedman includes fresh stories and insights to help us understand the flattening of the world. Weaving new information into his overall thesis, and answering the questions he has been most frequently asked by parents across the country, this third edition also includes two new chapters--on how to be a political activist and social entrepreneur in a flat world; and on the more troubling question of how to manage our reputations and privacy in a world where we are all becoming publishers and public figures.

I read the original edition of this book way back when it was released.  That particular volume was given to a departing foreign exchange student.  When I went to replace the copy, I picked up the 3rd edition and it proceeded to sit on my shelves and in boxes for years.  I finally decided to read this edition.

Overall, I have to say that I've enjoyed both editions of this book that I've read.  I have to say that Friedman's basic premise is fairly simplistic.  Yet, I understand how people have misconstrued his concept of the flattening of the world.  He doesn't actually mean that the world is equalizing, but that opportunities are becoming more accessible to people across the world.  I find it very interesting to trace the progression of societies and globalization.  Interesting reads, but I warn you that it's fairly dense.  For the record, here's Friedman's list of 10 global flatteners:

• #1: Collapse of the Berlin Wall
• #2: Netscape
• #3: Workflow software
• #4: Uploading
• #5: Outsourcing
• #6: Offshoring
• #7: Supply-chaining
• #8: Insourcing
• #9: Informing (Google and other search engines are the prime example)
• #10: "The Steroids" (Wireless, Voice over Internet, and file sharing)