Review of Flat

I recently completed reading The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman. I don’t normally post extensive reviews on my blog. But, I think that this important book requires some commentary.

Flat is really two books in one. The first 200 or so pages discuss the forces which flattened the world. In general, Friedman does a nice job identifying and describing these forces. The average business person will likely be aware or familiar with most of them, but it was good to see them all in one place and discussed in a coherent, intelligent manner.

Therein lies the problem. Freidman’s preface discusses how he missed all these forces, as he was focused on other things. Many readers will not find anything new nor necessarily insightful in the first half of the book. I would view this as a good review, or a good historical account, of where we are today and how we got here. If you are looking for forward-looking thinking, you might want to look elsewhere.

The second half of the book is where Friedman really shines. He discusses the geopolitical threats to a flattened world. The section entitled “Too Frustrated” in Chapter 11 elegantly describes the Arab-Muslim sense of humiliation that apparently is widely felt. I don’t claim to fully appreciate it after reading Friedman, but it is the first time I’ve seen it described so elegantly.

Overall, the book is what the subtitle says it is. It is a history book. It is a review of the key events, beginning with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, which have shaped our flat world today. History buffs will definitely enjoy this. If you want some forward thinking on how these forces can shape your corporate strategy, then you may want to look elsewhere, but read Flat first!