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Has anyone read The World is Flat? I was told by someone that I should read it and it would help peak my interest in my globalization class.

Lisa

I have not personally read it yet but I am familiar with the author and I would not hesitate to recommend it.

I haven't read that. But if Erasmus says he would recommend it then I think I'll have to put it on my list of "to read books"

My wife read it. She said it had some great points. I thought the idea behind it was interesting.

I loved it. He puts what's happening in the world a little more into perspective. I could have done without a few of his political opinions but other than that it was very informative and interesting.

"The World Is Flat" will provide you with the pro-corporate globalization arguments, which is important. But I would also recommend reading Naomi Klein's excellent "The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism" for a look at the critique of corporate globalization and free trade. Her documentary "The Take" is a great look at alternative forms of globalization. Never hurts to look at all the sides of an issue.

Also, if you are reading books about Globalization, I recommend also considering picking up Globalize Liberation. It may take a side on the issue, but it is one of my favorite contemporary books.

I think it is a good book, deserving its bestseller status. It is long (600p +), rambling, and repetitive: a hundred and one interviews, portraits and citations in US journalese, but at the end it seems solid enough to me, really without the need of more structure. It should be about globalisation, but is nearly exclusively about the IT revolution part of it. The container revolution at sea, very much a prerequisite for having nearly everything manufactured in China, is not mentioned once; although Columbus and steam trains are given some credit for making the world smaller.