The World Is Flat: A Brief History of The Twenty-First Century

by Thomas L. Friedman

Given to me by ISD 112, hardcover, 571 pages

Updated and Expanded release 2.0

Published: 2005, 2006

Genre: Non-fiction, globalization

 

I read this over fifteen years ago! It was the book my professional learning community chose. It was startling for me and I didn't finish the last fifty pages. So it has been sitting on my "to read" shelf. It sat. And sat. Now I want to get rid of it and resist the temptation to re-read the entire book to blog it!

 

I had a few notes in the book. The world is shrinking and flattening. Globalization 1.0 (1492 - approx. 1800), 2.0 (1800-2000), and 3.0 is now. The ten forces that flattened the world were:

#1 -  11/9/89 (when the Berlin Wall came down and the Windows went up / opened up free market capitalism / technology windows open

#2 - 8/9/95 - When Netscape went

#3 - Work flow software

#4 - Open-sourcing

#5 - Outsourcing

#6 - Offshoring

#7 - Supply-chaining

#8 - Insourcing

#9 - In-forming

#10 - The steroids

 

I don't remember what all of these refer to, but I do remember thinking that WalMart and other companies have changed the world for the worse.

 

I remember being upset about the course that the world is taking, yet I do appreciate many of the things that technology and change have made possible (or easier or more affordable). This is a thinking book! (But already outdated? Covid has changed a lot of things about our world.) 

From my reading log (undated):

I read most of this during Fall 2006. It was frustrating to listen on CD (old version & new) and read parts of it (old & new) and have some major overlap, but also know that I was missing some! Grrr. Should have just gotten my own copy when the learning community adopted this title.