I thought that this book would be a good piece of airplane reading- interesting anecdotes describing one of the most important phenomona of the world today. I had read and enjoyed From Beirut to Jerusalem, so assumed this would be another good read.
I was wrong.
First, the book is sadly outdated. This may be obvious, but there are books from 2000 about globalization and technology that still have much bearing on the world today (Like Smart Mobs).
Second, Friedman has a sad knack for trying to extend anecdotes to be perfect explanations of the world at large, and about 15 times in the first chapter he stretches it too far to become a naive view of globalization for those seeking a simple explanation to complex issues.
I can’t recommend this book, and I have to say that it is the first one in about 3 years that I did not read to completion.