As spectacular and moving as Bar-Am's photos are, Thomas L. Friedman's compelling essay provides an anchor in the form of an eloquent reflection on the unfolding of the first fifty years. Israel's contributions to politics and culture, to religion and commerce, have made a tremendous mark on the world, and these issues Friedman addresses with the perception of an outsider who has spent almost a quarter of his life in the area. While Bar-Am's photos show us the events that have shaped Israel's path, Friedman's essay explores the implications of Israel's first fifty years and the nation's powerful struggle between its past and its future.
Thomas L. Friedman Books
July 20, 1953
Thomas L. Friedman is an acclaimed author and journalist whose work delves into international affairs. He grounds his insights in extensive reporting, aiming to make the complex global landscape accessible to readers. Friedman has broadened the definition of foreign affairs to encompass the impacts of finance, globalization, and technology. His writing explores the interplay between enduring forces like nationalism and culture, and the transformative effects of the internet and global markets.
This extraordinary bestseller is still the most incisive, thought-provoking book ever written about the Middle East. Thomas L. Friedman, twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting, and now the Foreign Affairs columnist on the op-ed page of the New York Times, drew on his ten years in the Middle East to write a book that The Wall Street Journal called "a sparkling intellectual guidebook... an engrossing journey not to be missed." Now with a new chapter that brings the ever-changing history of the conflict in the Middle East up to date, this seminal historical work reaffirms both its timeliness and its timelessness. "If you're only going to read one book on the Middle East, this is it." -- Seymour Hersh
Friedman discusses how the key to understanding the 21st century is understanding that the planet's three largest forces--Moore's law (technology), the market (globalization) and Mother Nature (climate change and biodiversity loss)--are accelerating all at once. And these accelerations are transforming the five key realms: the workplace, politics, geopolitics, ethics, and community. Friedman posits that we should purposely "be late"--We should pause to appreciate the amazing historical epoch we're passing through and to reflect on its possibilities and dangers.--
That Used to Be Us
- 388 pages
- 14 hours of reading
Originally published: New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2011.
Hot, Flat, and Crowded
- 438 pages
- 16 hours of reading
Examines America's loss of focus and national purpose since 9/11, and the global environmental crisis, and shows how the solutions to these two problems are linked.
The World is Flat
- 672 pages
- 24 hours of reading
Offers a concise history of globalization, discussing a wide range of topics, from the September 11 terrorist attacks to the growth of the middle class in both China and India.
Longitudes and attitudes : the world in the age of terrorism
- 416 pages
- 15 hours of reading
From the Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times columnist and bestselling author of From Beirut to Jerusalem and The Lexus and the Olive Tree comes this smart, penetrating, brilliantly informed book that is indispensable for understanding today’s radically new world and America’s complex place in it. Thomas L. Freidman received his third Pulitzer Prize in 2002 “for his clarity of vision, based on extensive reporting, in commenting on the worldwide impact of the terrorist threat.” In Longitudes and Attitudes he gives us all of the columns he has published about the most momentous news story of our time, as well as a diary of his private experiences and reflections during his post–September 11 travels. Updated for this new paperback edition, with over two years’ worth of Friedman’s columns and an expanded version of his diary, Longitudes and Attitudes is a broadly influential work from our most trusted observer of the international scene.
The Lexus and the olive tree
- 352 pages
- 13 hours of reading
A powerful and accessible account of globalization - the new world order that has replaced the cold war - by the award-winning author of From Beirut to Jerusalem. More than anything else, globalization is shaping world affairs today. We cannot interpret the day's news, or know where to invest our money, unless we understand this new system - the defining force in international relations and domestic policies worldwide. The unprecedented integration of finance, markets, nation states and technology is driving change accross the globe at an ever-increasing speed. And while much of the world is intent on building a better Lexus, on streamlining their societies and economies for the global marketplace, many people feel their traditional identities threatened and are reverting to elemental struggles over who owns which olive tree, which strip of land. Thomas Friedman has a unique vantage point on this worldwide phenomenon. The New York Times foreign affairs columnist has travelled the globe, interviewing everyone from Brazilian peasants to new entrepreneurs in Indonesia, to Islamic students, to the financial wizards on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley, to find out what globalization means for them, and for all of us. This ground-breaking book is essential reading for anyone who wants to know how the world really works today.
Longitudes and Attitudes
- 416 pages
- 15 hours of reading
This title brings together reportage and reflections on the state of the world leading up to and after September 11, 2001. Thomas Friedman gives voice to our awakening sense of a radically new world and our own complex place in it.
