Rating: 
Summary: Everything fell apart
Review: I read the Lexus and the Olive Tree for a final paper on globalization for my Latin American Economies class. This book was very one-sided i.e. the side that supported American style capitalism as the savior of the world and rejecting, in my opinion, the superior European and Japanese versions. With the U.S. economy on the ropes and the collapse of Enron, a company Thomas Friedman praised over and over as the model corporation in a globalized world, Friedman picture now seems very suspect. His shut-up and put-up prescription for the rest of the world and his lack of a nuance understanding of capitalism really put me off. And worst of all he supports his theories with arguments with a mixture of Eco 101 and god ole American "common-sense." Despite its shortcomings this book is important to read not because it reveals great truths about globalization but because it reveals how globalization is perceived in the media. After reading this book read: One World Ready or Not
Rating: 
Summary: Tom Friedman was born to write
Review: Like his first book, "From Beirut to Jerusalem," Tom Friedman displays a mastery over his subject like few authors. He is such an articulate apostle for globalization because he has lived it and breathed it for years as a foreign affairs columnist. His book is crammed with witty anecdotes that enable the reader to understand and appreciate the profound changes in our world economy. In his introduction, Mr. Friedman says that he is not an advocate of globalization, per se. Rather, he accepts its seeming inevitability. I am sure Mr. Friedman believes that his intent is neutral, but the balance of his book's information is favorable toward globalization. This should not be surprising because, in sum, globalization is a positive world development. The author, however, waxes sentimental when he warns that globalization may turn us into spiritless "machines." Mr. Friedman shouldn't worry. In fact, capitalism and democracy are revolutionary systems precisely because they enable people to possess free will and choice. With the rise of globalization, people all over the world can choose their own "olive trees" - their communities, their religious beliefs, etc. - while enjoying a higher standard of living. It is no coincidence that the United States - the arsenal of both democracy and capitalism - is the world's most religious industrial society. It is not only a diverse faith - Jews, Protestants, Catholics, Muslims - but an active faith - one where people make God an active part of their lives rather a distant character. Our real "olive trees" will be enhanced, not suppressed, by freedom. I should also add that I disagree with the author concerning the process's inevitability. Nothing in life is guaranteed. In the late 1960s, America stunted the engine of our economic growth with welfare and crippled the principle of equality before the law with affirmative action. These policies were designed to create a more "compassionate" society. Rather, they only deepened the problems of poverty and created needless friction between the races. In the next decade, America will face a similar choice: Will we abandon the secret of our success out of misguided guilt? Will our sympathy for the poor delude us into destroying the only opportunity for their advancement? The recent protests in Seattle and Washington should give us pause. Hopefully, they'll read Tom Friedman's book and adopt a fresh, more informed, perspective.
Rating:
Summary: Good Introduction to Globalisation, but a little pro market
Review: An easy and pleasant introduction to the topic of globalisation. I found myself not being able to put it down at times. However, the description of globalisation is the only good aspect of the book; 3.5 stars because it does this very well. Some arguements are weak and don't question enough the problems caused by globalisation. The book doesn't take an impartial view of globalisation, being a bit pro-market (but only a bit). Don't accept Friedmans view that globalisation cannot be controlled, and that no other alternative exists, being a refined system or a fundametally different one. Part one and two are the guts of the book, part three is not broad enough in discussion and part four is boring (I admit however that I am not American. If you are not American you are probably aware of the issues discussed in part four.). Overall though, I enjoyed it and am glad I read it.
Rating:
Summary: THINK GLOBAL, ACT LOCAL
Review: You may have seen Thomas L. Friedman, award winning New York Times columnist/writer on Charlie Rose Television show on PBS where he is a regular guest. This is a must book for anyone who lives in the 21st century-- even if you never leave your home town or cross the bridge into the next county. Friedman, must be one of the most readable nonfiction authors of our time. And speaker-- wow, his soundbites and interviews on Charlie Rose and CNN are just spellbinding. This book is worth the price just for his story about gas stations - I can't ruin that section and tell you more about it but believe me-- once you read his 'gas station' story you'll begin to understand how America fits into the global economy. He maintains that globalization replaces the cold-war system. The cross between between information, technology and capital -- globalization is what we are and how we do business today and tomorrow. Divided into four parts: 1) Seeing the System, 2) Plugging Into the System, 4) Backlash Against the system and 4) America and the System, he makes economics, geography, history and politics come alive. Where was this book when I was taking my first CIVICS class -- and what the heck was Civics anyway -- cross-discipline, cross-cultural thinking and stories galore make this a treasure of a book for every thinking American and of course resident of the international new global village.
Rating:
Summary: An Opinion of Globalization for Beginners
Review: As a high school student who does not know very much about globalization or surrounding topics, this was a good book to introduce this subject to me. Friedman explains globalization very well, referring to it as the new system for global communications and interaction. At times the book seemed very one-sided though; Friedman only discusses the advantages to globalization and never goes into what may be happening on the flip-side due to the progression of globalization. Also, the style that the book was written in makes it seem as if it is all personal opinion. There are no real, cited credible sources dealing with the subject matter, other than interviews, and therefore I am wary to absorb completely all the information he presents us, since I do not have any prior background knowledge to compare his opinions to. This book was easy to read and overall enjoyable. I enjoyed some of the humor that Friedman incorporated into his writing, as it kept the book going when the topic alone may not have sufficed. I am glad that I read this book because I gained a new perspective on what has been going on in the world during the past decade, and learned a lot also.
Rating: 
Summary: To the Average highschooler
Review: I had trouble keeping my attention while reading the book. The subject didn't grab me and I am not being a great reader to begin with struggled with its long stories. In the book, Thomas Friedman states that this new system referred to as "Globalization" the new economic system for the world. It adds a collection of things but mainly the idea is that with the inception of the internet and spread of information that one massive market has been created for the world. This new system allows people from all over the globe to be connected and keeps allowing for more chances for people to connect. He concentrates mostly on the good of globalization and doesn't look at many of the bad parts of it. I do believe though that if someone is very interested in the subject that this book would be a very good place to start in the understanding of globalization.
Rating:
Summary: Good general picture of globalization with flaws
Review: Thomas Friedman has been a foreign correspondent with the New York Times for years, and as such has seen much of the world. Indeed, every single chapter has several stories from villagers in China, US government officials, to Silicon Valley executives. Friedman's strength is composing analogies to make globalization comprehensible. He describes the collective activities of investors, large and small, using the Internet to move money around the planet quickly and sometimes irresponsibly as the "Electronic Herd." He describes the American-style free-market capitalism that best takes advantage of globalization as the "Golden Straitjacket." He describes economies using a personal computer analogy; the basic economic system (e.g. capitalist, communist, authoritarian etc) is the "hardware" and the legal system, free press, social attitudes etc compromise the "operating system" and "software" of an economy. If a country just has an open economy with no political stability, no stock market regulation etc, it is like a computer without a surge protector when lightning strikes; the result is a meltdown. As far as Friedman's evaluation of globalization, I would describe his view as cautiously optimistic. Friedman himself states, "Generally speaking, I think it's a good thing that the sun comes up every morning. It does more good than harm, especially if you wear sunscreen and sunglasses. But even if I didn't care for the dawn there isn't much I could do to stop it. I didn't start globalization, I can't stop it - except at a huge cost to human development - and I'm not going to waste time trying." (xxi-xxii) In terms of documenting his position, the single largest problem with the book is the near total reliance on anecdotes and interviews. There is no bibliography and no footnotes in the book (well, there are some internal footnotes), merely a one and a half page list of acknowledgements for all the people he interviewed. While these definitely make the book interesting to read and personal, one always can and should ask, "Are these people representative of what's happening?" I think this sort of material should be used for purposes of highlighting points or illustration rather than the main content of a book. To be fair, Friedman does include statistics and other such information from a variety of sources (but his documentation is spotty; sometimes he will just say "The Economist says") Friedman's main thesis is that globalization is the _system_ of international relations that has replaced the Cold War system of nuclear weapons, East vs. West and the rest of it. While there is certainly strong points to support him in this (e.g. the Soviets are gone) and the greatly increased importance of international trade and the ability of markets to move capital around the world quickly, an ability made possible by new technologies (especially the Internet), I think he has probably overstated his case. To explain the title of the book, the Lexus represents all the forces of globalization; the Internet, investors, the Golden Straitjacket and so on. The Olive Tree represents the home, national identity and all the things provide a person's meaning and value in life. There needs to be a balance between these two forces. Silicon Valley executives that demand all Lexus and no Olive Tree are going to produce people with no sense of identity or self and people that only have the Olive Tree are either going to become poor or remain cut off from the major sources of growth in the world today. The economic aspect of the globalization is the primary focus of the book, so there is only limited content dedicated to the effects (positive and negative) on the environment and culture. Friedman is also _very_ critical of those who would criticize globalization; his main criticism can be summed up with this quote: "Like other ideological backlashers against globalization, Zjuganov had more attitude than workable programs, more ideas about how to distribute income than about how to generate it." (page 328) Critics of globalization ought to take note; simply saying, "This is all wrong!" is just not enough anymore. Real, workable alternatives have to be provided. I think one good example of this is the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, which actually provides alternative Government budgets. Friedman concludes the book with a long discussion (Part Four: America and the System) of how America is the country best suited to take responsibility for managing globalization AND how America is the country that is ideally situated to benefit from it. He thinks that there has to some safeguards on the system to prevent it from harming too many people. It is interesting to note that Friedman added about 100 pages in this second version of the book, which is only about a year old. He needs to change it to take account of September 11, the collapse of Argentina and the bankruptcy of Enron, among other things. I have not decided what I think about globalization just yet though; this is a good starting place to begin though. The next book I read on the topic will be, "The Globalization Reader," edited by Frank Lechner and John Boli (ISBN: 0631214771); it covers all aspects of globalization from a variety of perspectives; critics, optimists, and those who are in between.
Rating:
Summary: Post 9/11
Review: You need to read 'Longitudes and Attitudes' along with 'the Lexus & Olive Tree' to understand what's changed. Further, read his columns in the NYTimes. He's not perfect, but one of the few people with original, reasoned opinions these days. Most of American political dialogue is talking heads discussing other talking heads statements. TLF is refreshing, candid, and takes what the chinese call 'the long view' of history.
Rating: 
Summary: Shallow and outdated post 9-11
Review: This work provides a general understanding of the drivers behind globalization, but Friedman often leaves concepts in mid-air without closure. And for that reason much of the book seems like speculation or 'best guess as to why' Q&A. Friedman's admiration for Enron will make you giggle and the little attention he gives to terrorism as a backlash to globalization weakens the entire work. Perhaps so much has changed since 9/11/01, its outdated that quickly. I would recommend it for high school students as an intro to the topic.
Rating:
Summary: A well written account of Freidman's pro-globalization views
Review: Freidman's "Lexus" was written at the height of the globalization trend and before 9/11. As such it's a good snapshot of the ideals that drove globalization and a decent primer on why free trade is still one of the important issues of the day. Although a bit lightweight at times (it is a journalist's depiction after all), but very readable it's also still very relevant, even more so perhaps in a post-9/11 world full of "Clash of Civilizations" rhetoric. Free trade leads to intertwined economies and shared interests in the future. Economies build and produce what they do best in a perfect globalized world economy. Freidman is at his best when he points out globalizations benefits to the third world and the world in general. The major criticism that can be leveled at "Lexus" is that Freidman downplays the negative side of globalization. But that isn't the point of "Lexus". It's strong pro-globalization cheerleading is firmly rooted in spirit in real world economics. I find myself in agreement with Feidman's overall attitude, but hold a skeptical reservation for the negatives that can and do sometimes accompany globalization. While those negatives don't approach the apocalyptic baloney that the fervid anti-globalization crowd spews, they're real enough that they need to be addressed.
| 
