Rating: 
Summary: Friedman paints the 'Big Picture'
Review: This book pulls together the threads of world politics, commerce and culture and packages it clearly, giving news stories from all over the world and from different walks of life a central theme. Unlike many writers, Friedman shows how globalisation is not just some fad term explaining a few interesting and puzzling world trends, but the new and prevailing world system. This book is a must for all students of business as it seeks to explain the world environment in which we will live and work (better, I think, than any current textbook). A long read but easy to grapple with.
Rating: 
Summary: Not comprehensive enough, not always vaild
Review: Not always accurate, and not comprehesive: Friedman tries to pack too much information into the book without adequate explanation.
Rating:
Summary: Save your money.
Review: Dear Readers:This book does not overwhelm one when he reads it. To wit, it doesnt do much. I am amazed how such a poorly written book can have such brisk sales. Just because ONE guy states his view (which, incidentally, has been around for a long time) does not mean that WE should take it as GOSPEL! I loved Friedman's "From Beirut to Jerusalem" because it was reporting at its best. Mr Friedman fails with his analysis of lexuses and olive trees as the right way to look at things, for what we see, and the only historical CHANGE that we see, is the rise of mass consumerism. That's it. Having bought this book, I would consider it a MISTAKE!
Rating:
Summary: I'm trying...
Review: I've read about half of this book, and although I know I should finish it before I pass judgement, I'm not sure I'll be able to take another page of Friedman's smug tone, and constant analogies. Before I read this book I thought that analogies were a really good way to explain complex things so they are easily understood. Friedman goes too far! He over uses his analogies to the extent that you forget what the hell he was talking about in the first place. There's also something obnoxious about his tone. The title of the first chapter "Tourist with an Attitue" gives you a hint. This line, on page 86: "So,idelologically speaking, there is no more mint chocolate chip, there is no more strawberry swirl,and there is no more lemon-lime. Today there is only free-market vanilla and North Korea." really made me need a drink. I am consoled by the fact that this book will end . I hope I can stick with it.
Rating:
Summary: Like it or not the train is coming
Review: The globalization described in this book is a new phenomenon. Never in history has information been so quickly available. Countries that do not make themselves competitive can expect to see their income drop. Outside individuals and companies will not want to invest in countries that are not competitive. Witness the growth in Irish business and the drop in French business. Why should other nations buy more expensive products? Globalization is not all good but countries will have to work with it as well as they can. Other economic systems such as socialism will not be able to create wealth at such a rate. People themselves must learn new skills to adapt to this economy. The well paying, unskilled jobs will not exist in the future. Friedman uses many analogies and even fictional dialogues to make this process easy to understand. Now we must prepare ourselves for it.
Rating:
Summary: interesting information leading into political campaign
Review: The book is offering an interesting insight into the current development of globalization, giving the reader various examples. Unfortunately, most of the examples seem to be the authors' thoughts or interview-results that are manipulated by him (at least the style), causing severe damage to the quality of the book as such. Starting from a "quasi-analytical" perspective, Friedman leads into a political campaign at the end of the book, revealing a biast american point of view and failing to maintain global understanding. One is shocked to hold such a low quality report, written by a man in Friedman's position, meant to be a guideline to globalisation, into one's hands.
Rating:
Summary: Not enlightening.
Review: I think Thomas Friedman really tells us about old news. This may stun some people, but the world is not "10 years old" as Friedman suggests. Globalization and the global economy has been around since Merchants have existed, which is well over 2000 years. All one needs to do is read a copy of _Nations of Nations_ or any New York Times and he will find that even our great nation, the U.S.A., was and is built upon an explosive export/import sector, from the Magna Carta to E-Commerce. Even Mr. Friedman is profiting from this. Don't buy it sight unseen -- read a little at the library and make an informed decision as to whether you want to spend money on a book that is just a re-print of the nightly news.
Rating:
Summary: There are better books out there.
Review: I really dont understand why Thomas Friedman deserves all the accolades for this book. I read a lot of it for an Economics class at school, and then compared it with the Wall Street Journal at the school library. Mr. Friedman's observations, though humorous, do not lend particularly well to the UNDERSTANDING that people should have from the book. Indeed, I would recommend the WSJ to people over Mr. Friedman's work.
Rating:
Summary: A Book based on Fictional Dialogues is PURE FICTION!
Review: Having read and re-read this book for my doctoral thesis on the Global Economy, I find it very difficult to believe someone who MAKES UP ENTIRE DIALOGUES! Thomas Friedman, with this book, is acknowledging that he himself, before thinking about the topic, was a one-dimensional political reporter. Suddenly he undergoes this conversion, SEES THE LIGHT, and understands that economics is a factor in everyday life? The Truth of the matter is that Mr. Friedman is NOT the expert on Globalization. All one really needs to do, the next time you purchase a sporty watch or walkman or appliance, is take a look at the directions / owner manual. If the manual is written in Russian, Chinese, French and Spanish, then you know the manual was printed in SEVERAL countries. When you see that some parts were made in India, and others in Canada, globalization will make more sense. It's better to look at everyday life versus read fictional dialogue from Thomas Friendman.
Rating:
Summary: Freidman Properly describes Globalization
Review: I've always enjoyed reading Thomas Freidmans editorials in the NY times. This book I've been using in a Business Class at the U of Utah and what a book it is. With his personal experience, Freidman illustrates the transition from a cold war isolationist world economy to todays global economy. Through his analogys of the Lexus and the Olive Tree, Freidman describes the new global system and makes it interesting for his readers. An outstanding insight on todays fast paced, highly communicating world economy.
| 
