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Loading... The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalizationby Thomas L. Friedman
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. A generalist's take on globalization. The books starts off with some interesting anecdotes and discussions. But it goes and on rambling about the same thing. Another downside is that Friedman assume s the reader to be so dumb that some of his descriptions sounds too childish. A big minus of the book is that, apart from being US-centric the book is like a piece of propagandist pamphlet. It shies away from many issues raised by the opponents of Globalization. For example there is almost no discussion on asymmetries in trade. Let's extrapolate global events from personal anecdotes! Written by a Pulitzer-Prize winning columnist, the author explores how globalization is changing the world. Combined with The World is Flat, this is a must read for understanding globalization. no reviews | add a review
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Friedman, the well-traveled New York Times foreign-affairs columnist, peppers The Lexus and the Olive Tree with stories that illustrate his central theme: that globalization--the Lexus--is the central organizing principle of the post-cold war world, even though many individuals and nations resist by holding onto what has traditionally mattered to them--the olive tree.
Problem is, few of us understand what exactly globalization means. As Friedman sees it, the concept, at first glance, is all about American hegemony, about Disneyfication of all corners of the earth. But the reality, thank goodness, is far more complex than that, involving international relations, global markets, and the rise of the power of individuals (Bill Gates, Osama Bin Laden) relative to the power of nations.
No one knows how all this will shake out, but The Lexus and the Olive Tree is as good an overview of this sometimes brave, sometimes fearful new world as you'll find. --Lou Schuler
(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:05 -0400)
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