Thomas L. Friedman

A foreign affairs columnist offers an incisive look at globalization from a social, economic, political, and cultural perspective and assesses the impact of this trend both at home and abroad.

The Lexus and the Olive Tree

Deyana

Friedman's experience is no doubt a certification of credibility, but his voice and self-branded terminology seem to seep through the pages a bit too much in my opinion. Breaking concepts down to metaphor can be helpful, but it was hard to keep up with Lexuses, olive trees, Electronic Herds, Golden Straightjackets, racing tracks, oranges etc. Nonetheless, this is still an eye-opening work and its conversational, informal style of writing makes it unique among other academic texts.

Trevor Berrett

Very readable, very witty book about the phenomenon of globalization. Personally, I think it won my vote when he explained that the business world is moving so quickly that when the French cut weekly hours, he included a great image of the French running the 100 meter dash in flippers.
 I enjoy Friedman's columns in the NY Times, but this book is more than just an extended column. Friedman shows that he can explain a large concept in depth and with wit in book length.

The Lexus and the Olive Tree

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