The World Is Flat
The World Is Flat (Illustration)
Recently, I finished reading the the book "The World is Flat : A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century" by New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman. The book traces the progress of globalization in the 21st century and its implications on the way the world works today. The author tries to justify how he believes the world is becoming flatter by the day and how people from around the world can now compete on a more even playground. The book traces the time from the fall of the Berlin Wall, to the advent & spread of Internet, outsourcing & offshoring.
Though some may readers may argue that it doesn't give a wholesome perspective of the issue, I personally feel that the author has done an amazing job. Just researching that much data & putting it in a cogent manner would take enormous effort. For a significant part of the book, he presents the implications of the flat world on America & future American generations. And if you read the book with an understanding that it is an American telling his fellow citizens about the flattening of the world & warning them (without painting too gruesome a picture) about what is in store and what needs to be done to retain their position in the world, it can be a very useful & interesting read.
As a side note, I really like the illustration on the edition of the book I read. Newer editions of the book come with a different illustration unfortunately.