The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization
by: Thomas L. Friedman
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Amazon.com Review:
One day in 1992, Thomas Friedman toured a Lexus factory inJapan and marveled at the robots that put the luxury carstogether. That evening, as he ate sushi on a Japanese bullet train, heread a story about yet another Middle East squabble betweenPalestinians and Israelis. And it hit him: Half the world was lustingafter those Lexuses, or at least the brilliant technology that madethem possible, and the other half was fighting over who owned whicholive tree.
Friedman, the well-traveled New York Times foreign-affairscolumnist, peppers The Lexus and the Olive Tree with storiesthat illustrate his central theme: that globalization--the Lexus--isthe central organizing principle of the post-cold war world, eventhough many individuals and nations resist by holding onto what hastraditionally mattered to them--the olive tree.
Problem is, few of us understand what exactly globalization means. AsFriedman sees it, the concept, at first glance, is all about Americanhegemony, about Disneyfication of all corners of the earth. But thereality, thank goodness, is far more complex than that, involvinginternational relations, global markets, and the rise of the power ofindividuals (Bill Gates, Osama Bin Laden) relative to the power ofnations.
No one knows how all this will shake out, but The Lexus and theOlive Tree is as good an overview of this sometimes brave,sometimes fearful new world as you'll find. --Lou Schuler
Product Description:
From one of our most perceptive commentators and winner of the National Book Award, a comprehensive look at the new world of globalization, the international system that, more than anything else, is shaping world affairs today.
As the Foreign Affairs columnist for The New York Times, Thomas L. Friedman has traveled the globe, interviewing people from all walks of contemporary life: Brazilian peasants in the Amazon rain forest, new entrepreneurs in Indonesia, Islamic students in Teheran, and the financial wizards on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley.
Now Friedman has drawn on his years on the road to produce an engrossing and original look at globalization. Globalization, he argues, is not just a phenomenon and not just a passing trend. It is the international system that replaced the Cold War system; the new, well-greased, interconnected system: Globalization is the integration of capital, technology, and information across national borders, in a way that is creating a single global market and, to some degreee, a global village. Simply put, one can't possibly understand the morning news or one's own investments without some grasp of the system. Just one example: During the Cold War, we reached for the hot line between the White House and the Kremlin--a symbol that we were all divided but at least the two superpowers were in charge. In the era of globalization, we reach for the Internet--a symbol that we are all connected but nobody is totally in charge.
With vivid stories and a set of original terms and concepts, Friedman offers readers remarkable access to his unique understanding of this new world order, and shows us how to see this new system. He dramatizes the conflict of "the Lexus and the olive tree"--the tension between the globalization system and ancient forces of culture, geography, tradition, and community. He also details the powerful backlash that globalization produces among those who feel brutalized by it, and he spells out what we all need to do to keep the system in balance. Finding the proper balance between the Lexus and the olive tree is the great drama of he globalization era, and the ultimate theme of Friedman's challenging, provocative book--essential reading for all who care about how the world really works.
One day in 1992, Thomas Friedman toured a Lexus factory inJapan and marveled at the robots that put the luxury carstogether. That evening, as he ate sushi on a Japanese bullet train, heread a story about yet another Middle East squabble betweenPalestinians and Israelis. And it hit him: Half the world was lustingafter those Lexuses, or at least the brilliant technology that madethem possible, and the other half was fighting over who owned whicholive tree.
Friedman, the well-traveled New York Times foreign-affairscolumnist, peppers The Lexus and the Olive Tree with storiesthat illustrate his central theme: that globalization--the Lexus--isthe central organizing principle of the post-cold war world, eventhough many individuals and nations resist by holding onto what hastraditionally mattered to them--the olive tree.
Problem is, few of us understand what exactly globalization means. AsFriedman sees it, the concept, at first glance, is all about Americanhegemony, about Disneyfication of all corners of the earth. But thereality, thank goodness, is far more complex than that, involvinginternational relations, global markets, and the rise of the power ofindividuals (Bill Gates, Osama Bin Laden) relative to the power ofnations.
No one knows how all this will shake out, but The Lexus and theOlive Tree is as good an overview of this sometimes brave,sometimes fearful new world as you'll find. --Lou Schuler
Product Description:
From one of our most perceptive commentators and winner of the National Book Award, a comprehensive look at the new world of globalization, the international system that, more than anything else, is shaping world affairs today.
As the Foreign Affairs columnist for The New York Times, Thomas L. Friedman has traveled the globe, interviewing people from all walks of contemporary life: Brazilian peasants in the Amazon rain forest, new entrepreneurs in Indonesia, Islamic students in Teheran, and the financial wizards on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley.
Now Friedman has drawn on his years on the road to produce an engrossing and original look at globalization. Globalization, he argues, is not just a phenomenon and not just a passing trend. It is the international system that replaced the Cold War system; the new, well-greased, interconnected system: Globalization is the integration of capital, technology, and information across national borders, in a way that is creating a single global market and, to some degreee, a global village. Simply put, one can't possibly understand the morning news or one's own investments without some grasp of the system. Just one example: During the Cold War, we reached for the hot line between the White House and the Kremlin--a symbol that we were all divided but at least the two superpowers were in charge. In the era of globalization, we reach for the Internet--a symbol that we are all connected but nobody is totally in charge.
With vivid stories and a set of original terms and concepts, Friedman offers readers remarkable access to his unique understanding of this new world order, and shows us how to see this new system. He dramatizes the conflict of "the Lexus and the olive tree"--the tension between the globalization system and ancient forces of culture, geography, tradition, and community. He also details the powerful backlash that globalization produces among those who feel brutalized by it, and he spells out what we all need to do to keep the system in balance. Finding the proper balance between the Lexus and the olive tree is the great drama of he globalization era, and the ultimate theme of Friedman's challenging, provocative book--essential reading for all who care about how the world really works.
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- Friedman's new book is pro-corporate propaganda
i would not recommend this book. Its totally outdated. i didn't like world is flat book either.
Rating: 
- Selective History
Thomas Friedman is not at fault for preaching the wonders of globalization, after all, much of what he says is widely accepted as the truth regarding how economies work. May I recommend Bad Samaritans by Ha-Joon Chang. A much more objective book on free trade.
Rating: - Great and insightful when first written, but feels dated today
I admire Friedman's intellect, his decades of hands-on, in-the-trenches reporting all over the world (and especially in the Mideast). And he writes so clearly, colorfully and with energy. When this was first written, it was a novel perspective on what was happening in globalization of trade, communications, entertainment, etc.
The updates to the book, to make it relevant to our post-9/11 world, are helpful but they feel like an afterthought. The main meat of the book is still largely ... Read More
Rating: 
- Pseudo-Economics and Market Fundamentalism
I read part of this book for a Globalization class I was taking, plus a few chapters from a different book "Globalization and Its Discontents" by Joseph Stiglitz. I initially liked what I read from Friedman. It seemed positive and interesting in comparison to Stiglitz (which focused on IMF economic policies and was VERY angry). However, upon reading the whole Stiglitz book and then going back to Friedman, I found Friedman to be poorly educated in economics and a waste of my time. It is indeed a cheerleader ... Read More
Rating: - Heavy
Had some good ideas but pretty heavy reading.Not for the short attention span person.
- Friedman's new book is pro-corporate propagandai would not recommend this book. Its totally outdated. i didn't like world is flat book either.
- Selective HistoryThomas Friedman is not at fault for preaching the wonders of globalization, after all, much of what he says is widely accepted as the truth regarding how economies work. May I recommend Bad Samaritans by Ha-Joon Chang. A much more objective book on free trade.
- Great and insightful when first written, but feels dated todayI admire Friedman's intellect, his decades of hands-on, in-the-trenches reporting all over the world (and especially in the Mideast). And he writes so clearly, colorfully and with energy. When this was first written, it was a novel perspective on what was happening in globalization of trade, communications, entertainment, etc.
The updates to the book, to make it relevant to our post-9/11 world, are helpful but they feel like an afterthought. The main meat of the book is still largely ... Read More
- Pseudo-Economics and Market FundamentalismI read part of this book for a Globalization class I was taking, plus a few chapters from a different book "Globalization and Its Discontents" by Joseph Stiglitz. I initially liked what I read from Friedman. It seemed positive and interesting in comparison to Stiglitz (which focused on IMF economic policies and was VERY angry). However, upon reading the whole Stiglitz book and then going back to Friedman, I found Friedman to be poorly educated in economics and a waste of my time. It is indeed a cheerleader ... Read More
- HeavyHad some good ideas but pretty heavy reading.Not for the short attention span person.
