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Summary: His focus on Middle East is particularly trenchant
Review: Friedman is particularly trenchant and insightful in those portions of the book that focus on the Middle East, and especially Palestine and its neighbors. But this is understandable. The Middle East has always been his main "beat," and his area of special knowledge since student days.
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Summary: Shallow, naive, catchy but hollow.
Review: Amazon has expunged all but two of the well articulated negative reviews on this book, leading to an artificially high rating. Ironically, this kind of corporate censorship is exactly the result of the world-view that forms the underlying foundation for Thomas Friedman's book. Globalization is not inherently good or evil. It's here, it's happening, and you don't need Friedman's little anectodes to glorify it. What we all need is an understanding of its pitfalls (e.g. it doesn't work everywhere, as in Serbia and Indonesia) and its shortcomings (e.g. it brings on problems with alienation and disenfranchisement). Sadly, you will not find any intelligent analyses of problems with globalization in this book.Most importantly, a book that claims to interpret world events should allow its readers to predict the likely course of globalization in the world at large. However, even very basic (and catchy) claims made by the author, such as the assertion that countries with McDonalds franchises do not wage war against each other, have been proved wrong within months after the publication of this book. Intelligent work by a savvy pundit, this book is not.
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Summary: Entertaining, but glib and shallow
Review: The Lexus and the Olive Tree is a quick, entertaining read, filled with cute similies, amusing anectdotes and and pithy quotes from many interesting people and many corners of the world. Unfortunately, Friedman relies too heavily (almost entirely) on these tools to convey his points. There is a lack of serious analysis and consideration of context. Friedman admits in the opening chapter that he is new to his subject, and reached his understandings through "information arbitrage," i.e., by cobbling together small pieces of information on various subjects from various sources. It is not clear from his reporting that he did much careful study of the material, or that he developed any deep understanding of the serious subject that he attempts to explain. In too many instances the style he adopts comes across as glib and even condescending. Friedman is an enthusiastic supporter of of the ruthless "creative destruction" of free-market economics, but champions the need to preserve and protect cultural idiosycrasies. He seems not to recognize that culture and economics are so inextricably intertwined as to be inseparable; that Russian miners (to be swept away) ARE a culture, and that small farmers in southern France (to be protected) are inefficient producers. Also, Friedman seems to regard globalization as an entirely international phenomenon. He fails to notice the entirely parallel process that has been taking place WITHIN the United States, largely in the last half-century. There was a time not too long ago when the cultures of New Orleans and Boston were almost as different as those of Boston and Bangkok. A discussion of how Appalachian coal miners and midwestern small-farmers have adjusted to their circumstances would have been completely germaine to his subject and much more familiar to most readers than the examples used. In the end, Friedman offers his policy prescriptions for U.S. success in the globalized world. Unfortunately, they are so general and unimaginative as to be useless. Virtually everyone (even the 1994 freshmen Republicans that he derides) agrees that we should support relatively free markets, good education, a strong national defense and an adequate safety net. The hard questions are: How free is "relatively?" What constitutes "good?" How strong is "strong?" How much is "adequate?" And how much will it cost? The devil is in the details. Lest this review be read as completely negative, I repeat that the book is lively, enjoyable, and entirely worth reading. Many of the anecdotes are poignant, and all reflect Friedman's interest in and feelings for the peoples and cultures of the world. As a collection of stories of globalization the book is right on target. It disappoints in its attempt to convey any deep understanding of the subject.
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Summary: A great read - makes you think!
Review: Well written, full of anecdotes - an easy read on a difficult subject. I've lived abroad several times and was amazed that I had noted many of the same things the author did. I think the book ought to be on the reading list of the Senior Service Colleges that the Department of Defense operates. I think that because I'm a graduate of one of them and I think military and senior civilian leaders need to shift the paradigm and this book would be a helpful resource in that regard.
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Summary: Interesting, light,entertaining
Review: This is an interesting, entertaining book. It is rather shallow on content, but is pleasing because of the author's writing style. There are definite snippets of insight into the evolution toward a more interconnected global economy, and that is what makes the book worthwhile. Unfortunately Friedman drops into an unsupported diatribe against freshmen Republican congressmen, which sticks out as a serious irrational break in the flow of the book. This mean spirited outbreak indicates that although Friedman is describing a progression toward a global economy, on a personal level he is a social reactionary who despises the fact that a more competitive global economy may eventually force many governments to scale back the unnessary overhead they place on economies. Perhaps that is a move governments should consider on its own merits, but in most cases will never willingly pursue without being forced to do so by irrestible external forces. Friedman laments that globalization of economic forces may require countries to streamline their economic life in order to compete. Socialism will have fewer and fewer places to hide.
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Summary: WHY WILL THE FAST WORLD EAT THE SLOW WORLD
Review: I SAW HIM ONTHE CHARLIE ROSE SHOW 2 WEEKS AGO DESCRIBING THIS BOOK IN FRONT OF AN AUDIENCE @ BERKLEY UNIV. The Audience applauded for 2 straight minutes when he was done talking He has alot to say and is very witty with catchy little sayings that make sense. My favorite was DOS Capital for the underdeveloped nations and the question: How much do your exports weigh???? i.e. electronic =0 and BANANAS or Raw goods weigh tons.
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Summary: Facile and fatuous. Good intro. for third graders.
Review: This book is simple-minded in its evocation of a thrilling brave new world of international corporate control of resources and lives. Thomas Friedman keeps up his usual level of cute turns of phrase to make mega-structural world problems sound like goofy squabbles between eight-year-olds. Readers of his Times columns will delight in the plethora of simplifications, half-truths and propaganda that comprise this book. Thomas "Give war a chance" Friedman has mastered the art of the pointless anecdote. To wit the little tale from which the title of this book was derived: after touring a Lexus factory and marveling at Japanese efficiency in replacing humans with machines, Friedman perused a newspaper article about the Palestinian problem. He mused upon the subtle irony of displaced peasants fighting anachronistically for the right to eat, farm, live, etc., while Japanese efficiency experts are doing such a good job at cutting the fat out of their company's labor expenses. The message, presumably, is that refugees etc. should give up their reliance on such outmoded principles as self-determination, territorial integrity and national consciousness and prepare to rent themselves as worker/consumers to the new global corporate state. A charming view, to be sure. Thomas Friedman, the PR manager for the new world order, is a totally unserious critic of a major historical phenomenon. His use of citation and footnoting are deeply lacking. There is no good reason to read this book except to develop a sense of the shallow level of Friedman's thought.
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Summary: Must read on the systemic globalization earthquake
Review: For nearly two decades, I have considered Tom Friedman one of the savviest and shrewdest reporters on the Middle East, then foreign affairs. The Lexus and the Olive Tree establishes him as a multi-dimensional Walter Lippmann whose political/economic/social grasp of the Globalization Revolution makes him a must read for anyone who seeks to understand and capitalize on this systemic globalization earthquake. Friedman represents a rare breed of modern reporter with his mastery of both global politics and economics. For me, From Beirut to Jerusalem was a Baedeker on the Byzantine realities of the Middle East. (I first worked in Egypt in 1953, and felt that he had scored a bull's-eye). His perceptive March 30, 1999 op-ed article on Serbia/Kosovo remains totally valid after months of punishing bombing, then tortuous negotiations with Russian good offices. What I find so remarkable about Lexus and Olive Tree is that, unlike Paul Kennedy's and Samuel Huntington's scholarly suppositions, Friedman links his bold schematic globalization to what has been actually occurring in America and around the world. Some critics find his 'I was there' reportorial style off putting, reminiscent of Robert Mitchum in Winds of War. The fact is that he was there! This extraordinary reporter has provided a Tocquevillean global tour de force that rings true both in Silicon Valley and in rural Chinese villages. No one is sufficiently experienced to assess the veracity of all that Friedman reports and conceptualizes. Personally, I find credible his vignette on the ubiquitous 'man from Moody's.' In 1974 I created Moody's international bond ratings. What Friedman describes a generation later passes my gut-check test. Paul Krugman, whose record for puncturing fad theories is impressive, seriously questions whether Friedman's global vision might soon end in the dust bin with Lester Thurow, Kennedy, and others. In this instance, I suspect that Krugman, rather swiftly, will become a Friedman advocate. Certainly it is possible to nit-pick paragraphs in a book of such stunning boldness. What I find most credible is Friedman's cool-handed objectivity in identifying 'The Backlash Against the [Global] System.' Unlike scholars, he is not presenting a cerebral concept supported by selective footnotes. Rather, Friedman is describing what he, as well as leaders and ordinary citizens around the world, are experiencing. Adam Smith, in 1776, described the immutable force of the market economy. Only with the 1989 collapse of the Berlin Wall have alternatives to this market economy disappeared from center stage. In 1999, Friedman provides a snapshot of a cyber-paced global economy that will profoundly shape the 21st Century.
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Summary: It is a must read for those interested in Foreign Affairs.
Review: I am a history major at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I have read William Appleton Williams "The Tragedy of American Diplomacy" and Thomas McCormick's "America's Half Century" which are both classics in the field of Foreign Affairs. Friedman's book ranks right up there and should be read by all. It is more personable than both books mentioned above. With great story telling ability, Friedman shows how Globalization affects you and me and our future.
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Summary: A must read for all well wishers of globalization
Review: It is one of the most well written books on Globalization. What I liked most about the book was Mr. Friedman explained globalization not by some grand theories rather he explained it telling short stories of the people effected by it. This book must be made for everyone no matter what their profession is.
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