Product Description

Playaway is the simplest way to listen to a book on the go. Small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, it comes with the audio content already on it and a battery to make it play. No Cassettes. No CDs. No Downloads. Simply plug in the earphones and enjoy. When scholars write the history of the world twenty years from now and they come to the chapter Y2K to March 2004, what will they say was the most crucial development? The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 9/11 and the Iraq war? Or the convergence of technology and events that allowed India, China, and so many other countries to become part of the global supply chain for services and manufacturing, creating an explosion of wealth in the middle classes of the worlds two biggest nations and giving them a huge new stake in the success of globalization? And with this flattening of the globe, which requires us to run faster in order to stay in place, has the world gotten too small and too fast for human beings and their political systems to adjust in a stable manner? In his brilliant new work, the award-winning New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman demystifies this brave new world for listeners, allowing them to make sense of the often bewildering global scene unfolding before their eyes. With his inimitable ability to translate complex foreign policy and economic issues, Friedman explains how the flattening of the world happened at the dawn of the twenty-first century; what it means to countries, companies, communities, and individuals; and how governments and societies can, and must, adapt. The World is Flat is a timely and essential update on globalization, its successes and discontents, powerfully illuminated by one of our most respected journalists.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #474929 in Books
• Published on: 2006-05-01
• Format: Abridged
• Binding: Digital Audiobook

About the Author
Thomas L. Friedman has won the Pulitzer Prize three times for his work at The New York Times, where he serves as the foreign affairs columnist. He is the author of three bestselling books: From Beirut to Jerusalem (FSG, 1989), winner of the National Book Award for nonfiction and still considered the definitive work on the Middle East; The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization (FSG, 1999); and Longitudes and Attitudes: Exploring the World After September 11 (FSG, 2002). He lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with his family.

Customer Reviews

Excellent portability
I loved the ready to go digital audiobook. No need to worry about downloading anything. You have the ability to leave it in the car or in your bag and use it anywhere (while waiting to taxi the kids, at the soccer games, etc.) Book content is very interesting to review the century as it played out.

Great for travelers
I bought this for my husband who travels on the raod often and he has loved this, he says it makes the time go fast and he loves the mp3 like body and it hooks right into his car radio so he can listen to it in the car, or anywhere he has headphones. I highly recommend it.

Playaway technology a big disappointment
This audiobook comes on a small battery powered playback device supplied with earphones which is called a "PLAYAWAY". The biggest disappointment was the audio quality; it sounds like listening to someone reading a book to you over an average to poor telephone connection. Perhaps I am spoiled by the high quality CD discs I expect when ordering an Audiobook today, but even the cassette tapes of yesterday had superior audio quality to the "PLAYAWAY" of today.
The poor audio quality distracts severely from my enjoyment from an otherwise fascinating book - the world of audio technology is not yet flat!