The World Is Flat

I am in the midst of reading The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century, a groundbreaking book by NYT Op/Ed columnist Thomas Friedman. It is a case study of the causes and effects of globalization and our shrinking world. Personally, I'm a fan of Friedman's column: His concise, to-the-point analysis provides much-needed common sense regarding the complicated world in which we live.
In the book, he opens with a few stories about his inspiration for the book. In 2004, he was in India exploring the concept of outsourcing for a documentary series he was doing for The Discovery Channel. He interviewed software specialists who ran companies that did the taxes for American accounting firms and saw that almost every skyscraper in downtown Bangalore was owned by a foreign company: Goldman Sachs, HP, Texas Instruments, etc. When he got back, he came to an astonishing revelation, the world is flat. This idea became the basis for the book. He visited other places where this concept was evident: Tokyo, Dalian, Baghdad, and others. He also discovered "homesourcing", where people can work on a global scale right in the comfort of their own homes.
In the next part of the book, Friedman discusses "The 10 Forces That Flattened the World", ranging from the fall of the Berlin Wall, to the '90's IT era, to outsourcing and offshoring, even steroids. He explains the origins of each "force" and links it to the next. He also divides the history of the world in periods of globalization: Globalization 1.0, from 1492-1800, when the main focus of countries was expansion and exploration, and the world "shrank from a size large to a size medium"; Globalization 2.0, from 1800-2000, when global integration began to take shape, first through the Industrial Revolution and later during the tech boom. Here, the world shrank from a "size medium to a size small". Currently in Globalization 3.0, the world is shrinking even further, from small to tiny. Individuals are able to compete globally. Unlike the past, they don't need companies or governments to help them do that. Also, the playing field is leveling, which Friedman refers to as "flattening". It creates more diversity because everyone in the world can get involved in the game, so to speak.
Finally, the last portion is dedicated to the effects of globalization in different regions of the world. He emphasizes the harrowing challenges the flat world presents, and he makes suggestions as to how we can possibly overcome them.
I highly recommend this fascinating book, largely due to the wealth of information it holds as well as Friedman's easy to understand explanations. I'm hearing that his new follow-up, Hot, Flat, and Crowded, is also very well written, so I should probably check that out after I finish reading this. It focuses on the dire need for a Green Revolution as a result of globalization.
On another note, I unfortunately head back to school tomorrow. Back to reality. :|