The World Is Flat [Updated and Expanded]: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century

Amazon.com

Updated Edition: Thomas L. Friedman is not so much a futurist, which he is sometimes called, as a presentist. His aim in The World Is Flat, as in his earlier, influential Lexus and the Olive Tree, is not to give you a speculative preview of the wonders that are sure to come in your lifetime, but rather to get you caught up on the wonders that are already here. The world isn't going to be flat, it is flat, which gives Friedman's breathless narrative much of its urgency, and which also saves it from the Epcot-style polyester sheen that futurists--the optimistic ones at least--are inevitably prey to.

What Friedman means by "flat" is "connected": the lowering of trade and political barriers and the exponential technical advances of the digital revolution that have made it possible to do business, or almost anything else, instantaneously with billions of other people across the planet. This in itself should not be news to anyone. But the news that Friedman has to deliver is that just when we stopped paying attention to these developments--when the dot-com bust turned interest away from the business and technology pages and when 9/11 and the Iraq War turned all eyes toward the Middle East--is when they actually began to accelerate. Globalization 3.0, as he calls it, is driven not by major corporations or giant trade organizations like the World Bank, but by individuals: desktop freelancers and innovative startups all over the world (but especially in India and China) who can compete--and win--not just for low-wage manufacturing and information labor but, increasingly, for the highest-end research and design work as well. (He doesn't forget the "mutant supply chains" like Al-Qaeda that let the small act big in more destructive ways.)

Friedman has embraced this flat world in his own work, continuing to report on his story after his book's release and releasing an unprecedented hardcover update of the book a year later with 100 pages of revised and expanded material. What's changed in a year? Some of the sections that opened eyes in the first edition--on China and India, for example, and the global supply chain--are largely unaltered. Instead, Friedman has more to say about what he now calls "uploading," the direct-from-the-bottom creation of culture, knowledge, and innovation through blogging, podcasts, and open-source software. And in response to the pleas of many of his readers about how to survive the new flat world, he makes specific recommendations about the technical and creative training he thinks will be required to compete in the "New Middle" class. As before, Friedman tells his story with the catchy slogans and globe-hopping anecdotes that readers of his earlier books and his New York Times columns know well, and he holds to a stern sort of optimism. He wants to tell you how exciting this new world is, but he also wants you to know you're going to be trampled if you don't keep up with it. A year later, one can sense his rising impatience that our popular culture, and our political leaders, are not helping us keep pace. --Tom Nissley

Where Were You When the World Went Flat?

Thomas L. Friedman's reporter's curiosity and his ability to recognize the patterns behind the most complex global developments have made him one of the most entertaining and authoritative sources for information about the wider world we live in, both as the foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times and as the author of landmark books like From Beirut to Jerusalem and The Lexus and the Olive Tree. They also make him an endlessly fascinating conversation partner, and we've now had the chance to talk to him about The World Is Flat twice. Read our original interview with him following the publication of the first edition of The World Is Flat to learn why there's almost no one from Washington, D.C., listed in the index of a book about the global economy, and what his one-plank platform for president would be. (Hint: his bumper stickers would say, "Can You Hear Me Now?")

And now you can listen to our second interview, in which he talks about the updates he's made in "The World Is Flat 2.0," including his response to parents who said to him, "Great, Mr. Friedman, I'm glad you told us the world is flat. Now what do I tell my kids?"

The Essential Tom Friedman

From Beirut to Jerusalem
The Lexus and the Olive Tree
Longitudes and Attitudes

More on Globalization and Development

China, Inc. by Ted Fishman
Three Billion New Capitalists by Clyde Prestowitz
The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs

Globalization and Its Discontents by Joseph Stiglitz
The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy by Pietra Rivoli
The Mystery of Capital by Hernando de Soto

Book Description

The World Is Flat is Thomas L. Friedman’s account of the great changes taking place in our time, as lightning-swift advances in technology and communications put people all over the globe in touch as never before—creating an explosion of wealth in India and China, and challenging the rest of us to run even faster just to stay in place. This updated and expanded edition features more than a hundred pages of fresh reporting and commentary, drawn from Friedman’s travels around the world and across the American heartland—from anyplace where the flattening of the world is being felt.

In The World Is Flat, Friedman at once shows “how and why globalization has now shifted into warp drive” (Robert Wright, Slate) and brilliantly demystifies the new flat world for readers, allowing them to make sense of the often bewildering scene unfolding before their eyes. With his inimitable ability to translate complex foreign policy and economic issues, he 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; how governments and societies can, and must, adapt; and why terrorists want to stand in the way. More than ever, The World Is Flat is an essential update on globalization, its successes and discontents, powerfully illuminated by one of our most respected journalists.

Download Description

The Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist gives a bold, timely, and surprising picture of the state of globalization in the twenty-first century

Customer Reviews:

The World is Flat.......2007-10-23

Had to return the book. I wanted the 3.0 version but only the 2.0 was available. Too bad!!!

An important look into the development of the world, for the common person.......2007-10-23

I am a common person. I am not a computer-geek, or a technology junkie, or even an avid reader of Times or other such publications of the world as we know it. I am too busy, and so this was a lovely book to help bring to my awareness the situation of our world's commerce, trade and technological developments as they are today.

Covering a wide range of subjects, from political to environmental, to health-care and education, our author provides a good, clear look into the world of outsourcing, "in-sourcing", technological advances, and the political arena in which everything comes together. He provides a mostly objective report on such subjects, so widly influencing the world.

For anyone interested in the future of our nation and of the world, business, trade, politics, or life in general, this is a great resource. Of course, it certainly is a lot of heavy reading, and the author tends to get wordy from time to time. But overall, this book is well researched and well written.

My main complaint is that he steps into the political side of things a bit more than I believe this book warrants. He gives his opinion on what certain individuals should do to solve the problems, and uses the book as a platform for his area of interest. I support his research and expertise on the subjects at hand, but do not feel that the "call to action" was either appropriately executed or even thorough enough given the subjects covered, for it to be a valid part of the book. Other than that, great job!

...and so is this book.......2007-10-10

Though it has become an immensely popular book, Friedman's work is fairly shallow and simplistic. It is important to remember that this is a world analysis written by a journalist, not by a political economist or any type of economist or political scientist. His views are oversimplified and his support relies heavily on anecdote, making his 600-pager about 400 pages too long. We read it for a poli sci class and proceeded to tear it apart intellectually.

Ranks up there with Common Sense, Uncle Toms Cabin, The Femine Mystique.......2007-10-10

One of the greatest books ever written. Everyone in America should read this book. Every teacher in America should read and teach Frieman's lessons. Every parent should read and help prepare their children for the world that is coming. Every student should read and begin to prepare for the world they are going to face. This is the most important book of our times, bar none.

Embracing Business Globalization's Irreversibility.......2007-10-10

This is easily the most relevant book written on the new realities of business globalization, its irreversibility, and the practical consequences to our future. Friedman does an excellent job describing the numerous factors that led up to our current global economy including the ongoing fall of communism, the advent of the personal computer, and the ubiquity of the Internet. His historical review and assessment is fascinating and it sets up the reader to understand the context for his theories and practical applications. Friedman delves into numerous industries, businesses, personalities, case studies, technologies, psychological factors, and sociological factors. Although he covers numerous business, technological, and economic concepts, his writing style is very engaging and entertaining, using many personal examples and narratives, thereby holding the reader's interest. Rather than bemoaning some of the common perceived negative consequences of a global economy (such as US auto workers losing jobs to overseas cheaper labor) Friedman helps the reader to understand business globalization's irreversibility. In so doing, he describes many personal, practical, and business strategies for thriving in this new environment. Friedman is realistic and compassionate concerning the changes and the challenges. He states, "the great challenge for our time will be to absorb these changes in ways that do not overwhelm people but also do not leave them behind. None of this will be easy. But this is our task. It is inevitable and unavoidable" (pp. 46-47). As Friedman unfolds his strategies, he gives the reader a broader, global perspective that is filled with hope and excitement. Whether as a CEO, a business student, or a brand new professional embarking upon a career, this book is insightful, practical, and essential reading.

Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole

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Hard read but
How a book infantilizes adults and swallows citizens whole
Right on the mark...
Best Book I've Read in 5 Years
Try something else.

Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole
Benjamin R. Barber
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Macroeconomics | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0393049612

Book Description

A piercing and vital look at how capitalism is consuming U.S. society.

An apt sequel to Benjamin R. Barber's best-selling Jihad vs. McWorld, Consumed offers a wrenching portrait of how adult consumers are infantilized in a global economy that overproduces goods and targets children as consumers in a market where there are never enough shoppers. Driven by a frantic imperative to sell, consumer capitalism specializes today in the manufacture not of goods but of needs.

This provocative culmination of Barber's lifelong study of democracy and capitalism shows how the infantilist ethos deprives society of responsible citizens and displaces public goods with private commodities. Traditional liberal democratic society is colonized by an all-pervasive market imperative. Public space is privatized. Identity is branded. Our world, homogenized. With brilliance and depth, Barber confronts the likely consequences for our children, our liberty, and our citizenship, and shows finally how citizens can resist and transcend the civic schizophrenia with which consumerism has infected them.

Customer Reviews:

Hard read but.......2007-09-24

Benjamin R. Barber's "Consumed" is a hard book to read but a necessary one. Barber tells us how capitalism once met the "needs" of people and that it now just meets what he calls "faux" demand. It's the rise of the protestant ethics and ethos that has made capitalism thrive until today. The rise of infantilization and the dumbing of consumers has given corporations the power to control our so called "wants." Barber doesn't give us a solid solution to this (even he admits it will take a big effort) growing problem but it is a start.

How a book infantilizes adults and swallows citizens whole.......2007-09-03

It seems like there is an endless market for "Marx-lite" books by people who hate America and the West. Here is another example without a new idea in sight. Famous authors, such as Marx, Sombart, and Gaibraith, have previously rebottled this old wine. Like them, Barber hates our movies, our culture, our food, our sports, our consumer products, our free markets, and, of course, the likes of Wall Street, Silicon Valley, Gates, Gilder, Wal-Mart, GM, Google, and on and on. It is depressing just going through all the parts of America he feels are misdirected and even immoral. Is this really a person who loves America?

Where are the positive examples and why this perspective? Because, as the Nobel Prize winning economist Hayek has pointed out, for socialists, "Every activity must derive its justification from conscious social purpose." Thus Barber must tear down all those activities that he feels have either no purpose or the wrong social purpose. This quote by Hayek is a succinct summary of the motivation behind the book. Toward this end, Barber quotes many attention-grabbing sources. For example, on page 51 he asks us to consider, "Karl Marx who presciently explained how `the expansion of production and of needs becomes an ingenious and always calculating subservience to inhuman, depraved, unnatural, and imaginary appetites.'" A question: Does that really describe you or your friends?

Like most socialists, he has no respect for the individual: We are all at the mercy of those terrible companies who want to sucker us into buying things we don't want or need. Hey, but Barber will be happy to decide what we need. He knows the truth -- ask him. But why is he or some other group better qualified to decide what we need?

Barber has no understanding of free markets, the emerging global economy, or even the mom and pop shop on the corner. Like many academics, who have never produced anything but papers and books, he writes with absolute confidence and with noteworthy ignorance, not because he is unintelligent but rather because his starting perspective is wrong.

This is a long tedious book: Barber seems to crank this stuff out by the ton. As he would say, this book is an immoral waste of resources that we as consumers should reject because it has no larger social value. The only thing it has going for it is a mighty ad campaign aimed at corrupting children, infantilizing adults, and swallowing citizens whole. But, then again, each of us will have to decide that.

Right on the mark..........2007-08-16

I see a number of other reviewers belittling the book because of some trivial factual error regarding sports figures or celebrities, but in my eyes those points merely underscores the point that Barber is trying to make. In the end the constant media focus on these types of people is in my eyes a mass distraction. Does it change my life one iota when a drunken celebrity does something stupid? Not at all, but the media covers it for hour on end, and people lap it up.

People defend popular culture such as Harry Potter or Shrek, but these are all pure escapism and have very little relevance to our daily lives. Reviewers of those films make tortured comparisons to try and prove relevance to daily life, but the sad fact is that many people have become conditioned to not expect more, and perhaps not even have the patience to view a more substantive work.

Other reviewers insist that they aren't manipulated and that they have free choice. To an extent that is true, but one can easily argue that many people are making poor choices because they have been so deeply conditioned by advertisers. How can you justify spending 50K$ on a car, and replacing it when it is 3 years old when an inexpensive well-made car will fulfill the basic needs of transportation and may last 5-8 years instead? How can you justify spending money on bottled water when tap water in most areas is just fine? And how can you justify accumulating tens of thousands in consumer debt just to acquire all of this stuff? There are countless such examples all over the place.

And finally, there is the paradigm that runs deeply through our society that having more money and having more material goods will somehow make you happier. The problem is that these desires can never be satisfied - there is always something more, and there is always someone else who has more. In the end all of this materialism leaves people feeling empty, and the only tonic that they know to try and fill the void is to go out and shop some more.

On the other hand, if you can reach a point where you are content with what you have, you may find that many of the things that you do have are completely superfluous and can be donated to Goodwill or sold. Get rid of enough stuff, and that McMansion will seem empty, and a more modest and affordable house may meet your needs quite nicely.

Best Book I've Read in 5 Years.......2007-07-11

This is the best book I've read in 5 years. And I usually read 30 or so a year. It is the most challenging thing I've ever read. Throughout almost every sitting with the book, I would have to walk away and just sit to let it soak in. It was extremely cutting and exposing to me. And I dare say convicting. It's helped me to realize what a hyper-consumer I am and how childish I am in my tastes and entertainment. Even how childish I am in my spending. I never thought there would be a day when I felt like I needed to grow up and be a man, but this book helped me to entertain the possibility. The basic idea of the book focuses on the infantilization (dumbing down) of our society via the means of marketing and advertising. And the hyper-consumerism capitalism that we live with today. I couldn't recommend this book more highly. But I will give one disclaimer. It's 300+ pages of really small type. What makes it worse is that the author writes it like an academic paper. For example the first chapter which is only 35 pages long has 98 footnotes. It's just a really difficult read where reading 20 pages takes you an hour. So you'll either love the book or hate it. If you're a nerd, you might dig it. If you're not a nerd, you won't.

Try something else........2007-06-19

I confess, I didn't read the whole book. A friend gave it to me, and I parked it on the shelf after reading half and skimming the rest. Jeez-Louise! I'd hate to spend a week on an expedition cruise with this guy! He'd be the first one trying to feed the animals and then monopolizing the talk at dinner till everyone wanted to jump overboard. I didn't realize corporate America had captured everyone's free-will. The evil Bill Gates and Steve Jobs must be supressed along with Rupert Murdoch and the Walton family! I suggest reading Alexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville. He still rings true today. You'll sleep better at night. You want an entertaining picture of rampant consumption in America today, seen through the lens of 1840's when the all-corrupting market swallowed the entire continent of North America...and yes, is still swallowing it...There's a lot to eat out there, bunky! Read Heyday by Kurt Andersen. We may not be perfect but there must be some attraction if 12 million people will risk life and limb to get here one way or another. Mr. Barber and his book would probably be better fare in Venezuala or Cuba.

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Contemporary Marketing
Louis E. Boone , and David L. Kurtz
Manufacturer: South-Western College Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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NOW Slimpack Access Code for Boone/Kurtz's Contemporary Marketing, 12th

ASIN: 0324236735

Book Description

CONTEMPORARY MARKETING by Boone and Kurtz has proven to be the premier principles of marketing text and package since the first edition. With each edition, this best selling author team builds and improves upon past innovations, creating the most technologically advanced, student friendly, instructor supported text available. The twelfth edition continues to provide the most current and up-to-date content by including the most current coverage of topics such as one-to-one marketing, strategic planning, guerilla marketing, customer relationship management, and much more.

In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India

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A Passage Through India
Beating the Odds
A must read for anyone trying to understand modern India
To spite the Gods?
Bad statistic

In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India
Edward Luce
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0385514743
Release Date: 2007-01-16

Book Description

India remains a mystery to many Americans, even as it is poised to become the world’s third largest economy within a generation, outstripping Japan. It will surpass China in population by 2032 and will have more English speakers than the United States by 2050. In In Spite of the Gods, Edward Luce, a journalist who covered India for many years, makes brilliant sense of India and its rise to global power. Already a number-one bestseller in India, his book is sure to be acknowledged for years as the definitive introduction to modern India.

In Spite of the Gods illuminates a land of many contradictions. The booming tech sector we read so much about in the West, Luce points out, employs no more than one million of India’s 1.1 billion people. Only 35 million people, in fact, have formal enough jobs to pay taxes, while three-quarters of the country lives in extreme deprivation in India’s 600,000 villages. Yet amid all these extremes exists the world’s largest experiment in representative democracy—and a largely successful one, despite bureaucracies riddled with horrifying corruption.

Luce shows that India is an economic rival to the U.S. in an entirely different sense than China is. There is nothing in India like the manufacturing capacity of China, despite the huge potential labor force. An inept system of public education leaves most Indians illiterate and unskilled. Yet at the other extreme, the middle class produces ten times as many engineering students a year as the United States. Notwithstanding its future as a major competitor in a globalized economy, American. leaders have been encouraging India’s rise, even welcoming it into the nuclear energy club, hoping to balance China’s influence in Asia.

Above all, In Spite of the Gods is an enlightening study of the forces shaping India as it tries to balance the stubborn traditions of the past with an unevenly modernizing present. Deeply informed by scholarship and history, leavened by humor and rich in anecdote, it shows that India has huge opportunities as well as tremendous challenges that make the future “hers to lose.”

Customer Reviews:

A Passage Through India .......2007-10-22

In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India
By Edward Luce

Edward Luce is a journalist who has spent time in India. His "In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India" is a good introduction to modern India. His observations help dispel some of the contradictions within modern India: extreme poverty juxtaposed with newly developed technology; traditional agricultural economy contrasted with modern conveniences and communication; and India's relative stability within the South Asian community.

The British Partition of India in 1947 with predominantly Muslim concentration in the North and in Pakistan; and majority Hindus in the South, set the stage for religious and ethnic disputes that still continue.

Curiously, relatively few Indian Muslims have joined the Jihadist movements against the west that have rocked Pakistan.... Including the recent car bomb explosions that were aimed at exiled Pakistani leader Bhutto.

"But history turned out the way it did. And so India entered into independence with a large Muslim minority, many of whom went through the conundrum of watching close family members migrate to Pakistan forever. Though their decision to remain in India should have put Indian Muslims beyond suspicion, their loyalties were constantly called into question. It is a terrible Irony of partition that the Muslims who remained behind in India and those who left for Pakistan, should have as good a claim as any others to being true Indians and true Pakistanis respectively given the sacrifices they made. The contradiction of partition has yet to die out." (In Spite of The Gods, P. 227)

Luce examines the challenges to India, which he calls "Herculean", public health, the environment, external relations, and public confidence in the government. He says "the most coherent threat to India's liberal democracy is Hindu nationalism." He points to the "emergency" declared by former President Gandhi in the 1970's as an example of the failure of autocratic rule in India.

Beating the Odds.......2007-10-13

edward luce's journalistic writing style makes this book an easy read. it does a good job of putting into context the "hindu rate of growth" that existed for so long after india regained her independence. but just as a big ship takes longer to change direction than a smaller boat, so does a large, diverse country that has been steeped in tradition and religious constraints for so many centuries.

similarly, just as greed and selfishness are unfortunate bi-products of capitalism gone wild in the new world, so is "caste-ism" and corruption of an economic system based on social classes which has been the rule for thousands of years. yet, as the author points out, it is this very tradition and sense of history that will keep the balloon of prosperity which has been unleashed, to remain tethered to the ground as it finds it's way into the modern skies.

in summary, the book is a good bridge from the old to the new and a good primer for anyone interested in understanding the paradox of modern india.

A must read for anyone trying to understand modern India.......2007-09-18

This is an important book on modern India. Edward Luce has been a foreign correspondent in India for many years and knows the country well. He provides a comprehensive survey of the politics and economics of India going into the 21st century. I was initially disappointed by the opening pages dealing with a few new-age types living in luxury and marveling at the spirituality of India while completely ignoring the poverty. Reading on I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this was only an introduction to demonstrate what is wrong with many Westerner's perception of India. The book provides an unflinching look at India, warts and all. While some sections may seem overly critical, we live in an imperfect world and the same things are wrong in many other countries, to a greater or lesser extent. The rest of the world continues to function and even prosper and India does so too. The book also discusses the huge untapped potential of the country and the things that need to happen to assure future growth and development. I found the chapters on recent changes in religious practices and the rise of fundamentalism very eye-opening. The significance of attributing the domestication of the horse to the Indus Valley civilization is fascinating (I won't give this one away). In Spite of the Gods is a must read for anyone trying to understand modern India.

To spite the Gods?.......2007-09-15

I picked up this book when I was on a trip, mainly because of the intriguing title. I thought, well, here is someone who will tell us how our Gods hold us back economically. Especially, as many of us worship Lakshmi ji, the Goddess of prosperity, every day!

As it turns out, I was quite wrong. The title has absolutely no connection with the contents of the book, except perhaps to insinuate that India has progressed economically despite being religious. Or to help along sales. [Do note the rhyming with the original expression 'in spite of the odds'. Possibly Mr. Luce thinks that Hindu Gods were holding back India's progress, or that perhaps they are the real odds?]

The book is more or less a compilation of wisdom received from the author's Indian friends, and select social circle. I was unable to find any original insight or conclusion in the book. However, Mr. Luce does present the old and tired wisdom of assorted Indian intellectuals in a refreshingly witty way. In the end, the book is just a large collection of articles, such as you would find in any weekly or fortnightly newsmagazine or in any mainstream English language newspaper published in India. This is understandable, given the fact that Mr. Luce, after all is merely a journalist, used to regurgitating what others tell him. There is some useful information though, including tidbits about the high and mighty of Indian establishment.

Expectedly, Mr. Luce is most positive about and impressed with the economic side of Indian growth. He cites any number of examples of the growing economic strength and its implications. There may not be anything new in this, but the endorsement sounds nice, coming from a Western journalist.

However, his views on the cultural and religious aspects are a different thing altogether. He mostly holds the majority community as being directly responsible for India's perceived cultural backwardness, for the condition of the women and children, and for the distressing law and order situation. He also suggests that Bajrang Dal has been responsible for two out of three major riots in the last 25 years (the third being laid at the door of Congress). However, this is mere reductionism - he conveniently ignores hundreds of small riots which break out every year across India, on the slightest pretext.

This liberal confusion continues: when it comes to dealing with Muslims, he suddenly switches the canvas to South Asia, from just India! This serves two purposes: first it helps him cover the pre-1947 developments. Second, it allows him to include Kashmir in the discussion. Dealing with Kashmir within the framework of India would have perhaps been sacrilegious?

That said, it is therefore surprising to see an endorsement of the book by Mr. Mark Tully, whose work is as close to Mr. Luce's as North Pole is to South Pole. Perhaps Mr. Tully was merely helping along a fellow Briton. Or perhaps he was made to sign the endorsement using some frightfully sinister threat...

The book is very nicely bound, and the printing and paper is quite pleasing. So is Mr. Luce's writing style, humorous and engaging. However, sometimes it is a little tiring also, as you (as an Indian) sometimes feel that you are the [...]. of his jokes and gratuitous insinuations.

Buy this book if you quickly want to update yourself on the current perceptions of the fashionable and the intellectual. Skip it if you want to learn anything worthwhile.

Bad statistic.......2007-09-10

In discussing the low ratio of girls to boys, the author states that, in the West, there are 105 girls born for every 100 boys. That is not true. Even in the West, there are more boys born than girls. The numbers should be reversed.

Microeconomics: A Contemporary Introduction (with InfoTrac®)

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Microeconomics: A Contemporary Introduction (with InfoTrac®)
William A. McEachern
Manufacturer: South-Western College Pub
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Study Guide for McEachern's Microeconomics: A Contemporary Introduction, 7th

ASIN: 0324288662

Book Description

This very successful textbook is distinguished by a superior writing style that draws upon common reader experiences to introduce economic concepts, making economic theory more accessible and interesting. "Case Studies" and numerous examples take advantage of readers' intuitive knowledge of economics, building upon real-life situations. A streamlined design places pedagogy and illustrations directly within the flow of the text, making them less distracting and more useful for readers. A fully integrated program of technology enhancements sets this text apart by pairing the book with numerous online multimedia learning tools that have been developed to help the text better serve a wide range of learning styles. The text uniquely integrates classroom use of The Wall Street Journal by including in-text pedagogy to help readers learn to analyze the latest economic events as reported in the Journal.

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This is not what I wanted.......2007-02-19

I thought I was ordering the text for my micro econ course.. When I actually received the it, it was a condensed version of the text "To accompany the text," that's weak sauce. It's more than likely that it was my fault for not noticing, but it should be more obvious that this is not the text.

Great!.......2007-01-16

I recieved the book a couple days after I ordered it and it was in perfect condition! I am very happy with my purchase!!!

Fast service..........2007-01-03

I pick a next day delivery for this product and yes i received it on time... it arrived around 11 the next day and the product was great asset to my economic studies...

Contemporary Management 4th Edition with Student DVD & Premium OLC Content Card

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Good 'nuff
Contemporary Management 4th Edition

Contemporary Management 4th Edition with Student DVD & Premium OLC Content Card
Gareth R Jones , and Jennifer M George
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill/Irwin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0073049212

Book Description

When first introduced, Contemporary Management, by Jones and George made a huge splash with its innovative voice, content, pedagogy, design, and package. The cutting-edge 4th Edition continues to redefine what principles of management texts should look, sound, and feel like. As an author team Gareth Jones and Jennifer George are uniquely qualified to write about both the strategic and organizational challenges managers face. No Management textbook author team today matches their combined research and text-writing experience. Contemporary Management is a comprehensive text that surveys the theoretical underpinnings of modern management thought and research. Through a variety of real world examples from small, medium, and large companies it shows the reader how those ideas are used by practicing managers. While the organization of this text follows the mainstream functional approach of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling its chapters can be used flexibly and instructors can organize their management course according to the format they are most comfortable with. One of the most popular features of the book has always been its focus on the "Manager as a Person," which discusses managers as real people with their own personalities, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and problems. In the 4th Edition, the authors expand on this theme by discussing the importance of management competencies- the specific set of skills, abilities, and experiences that gives one manager the ability to perform at a higher level than another in a specific context. The themes of diversity, ethics, and information technology have also been greatly expanded in the 4th Edition through chapters dedicated to each of these topics as well as in-text examples, photographs, "unboxed" stories, and the end-of-chapter material- all areas of importance that truly serve to bring to life the workplace realities that today’s student will encounter in the course of a career.

Customer Reviews:

Shipped Slowly.......2007-03-09

I was told there was over night shipping on this book which I requested. When it did not show up the next day I checked with the shipping company and they said it was sent 2nd day air. I phone Amazon and they confirmed there was no over night shipping. If I knew there was no over night shipping from Amazon I would have purchased it from another source because I needed it the next day.

Good but expensive........2007-02-16

I used this text while teaching an Introduction to Management class to undergraduates at SUNY. It is comprehensive, well produced, up-to-date and has a lot of engaging real world examples. However, it's very expensive.

Strengths:

- Business Week excerpts at the end of each chapter allow students to examine real companies and real managers
- Case problems are pitched at the right level - short, but with enough content to make the students think
- DVD has some excellent content, especially on the entrepreneurship chapter. Many "Hot Seat" segments depict provocative scenarios such as sexual harassment that engage students and stimulate discussion.
- Case materials are integrated into the text instead of being presented in "boxes" that disturb the chapter flow.
- Good material on women in management.
- Well produced
- Comprehensive: the only material I added was on problem-solving and analysis skills, and some extra depth in business strategy.

Could be better:

- The book lumps business strategy under "planning", which understates its importance. The boring material on business planning gets more space than the interesting topic of competitive strategy. The business strategy material focuses on SWOT analysis and (briefly) Porter's Five Forces model. I would have liked to see some material on the resource-based view - such as core competencies - which is intuitive enough for undergraduates.
- The online test material is mostly multiple choice/ fill in the missing word, and in my view tests facts more than management concepts. I found this entirely inadequate and used none of it. I ended up writing a lot of short answer questions.
- The authors use a strange selection of tools in the section on psychology. There is no mention of Myers-Briggs or Belbin, which are widely used in the real business world.
- The text is very expensive. I felt guilty asking some students to pay this much.

Good 'nuff.......2006-10-13

Used this book for a class. It is well organized and has plenty of thought-provoking exercizes. It presented ethics and morals as fluctuating things, based on the times and location - I don't agree with that stand. However, the book was good. The online material is awsome - good chapter notes, practice tests, and glossary.

Contemporary Management 4th Edition .......2005-09-29

The book was in very good condition and arrived just in time before classes began. Shipping was fast and the book was exactly what I needed.

Contemporary Engineering Economics (3rd Edition)

Average customer rating:

Did this book even have an editor?
Very Good.

Contemporary Engineering Economics (3rd Edition)
Chan S. Park
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Systems Engineering and Analysis (4th Edition) (Prentice-Hall International Series in Industrial and Systems)

ASIN: 0130893102

Customer Reviews:

Did this book even have an editor?.......2006-10-21

There may be useful information in this text, but it's hard to trust anything that's so poorly written.

Page 32: ". . . the answer to each question is provided by one of financial statements."

Page 42: "Investment activities include such as purchasing, financing . . ."

I noticed an average of one error per page, although this seemed to get better as I read past the third chapter. (Maybe I just lost the ability to tell!) Now, I haven't noticed any substantive errors, but it's quite possible that one of the frequent mistakes in language caused the meaning of a sentence to change. In addition, the errors are just distracting! Imagine reading along, and not being able to get through a single page without doing a double-take because a sentence doesn't scan. And I'm not even trying to proof-read, just trying to understand the text!

All that being said, this seems to be a thorough treatment of the subject, and I guess I can infer that my professor thinks the content is reliable. But this text reads like a product manual that's been poorly translated from another language!

Very Good........2003-06-23

This is an excellent text for an engineering economics class. It concisely explains and demonstrates basic ideas and financial concepts in a logical manner. The only draw back I could detect was the author's nomemclature, which he introduces at the first of the text. If you don't memorize it early on, it becomes difficult to understand quickly. The professor who taught the Engineering Economics class I took was none other than Chan Park himself (guess what the required text was!).

Contemporary Mathematics for Business and Consumers (with CD-ROM)

Average customer rating:

EXCELLENT BOOK EASY TO UNDERSTAND
great book, alot of examples
Excellent textbook!
Good review of basic business math!

Contemporary Mathematics for Business and Consumers (with CD-ROM)
Robert Brechner
Manufacturer: South-Western College Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Accessories:

Student Solutions Manual for Brechner's Contemporary Mathematics for Business and Consumers, 4th

ASIN: 0324224222

Book Description

CONTEMPORARY MATHEMATICS FOR BUSINESS AND CONSUMERS is a 21-chapter educational adventure into today's business world and its associated mathematical procedures. The book is designed to provide solid mathematical preparation and foundation for students going on to business courses and careers. It begins with a business-oriented review of the basic operations, including whole numbers, fractions, and decimals. Once students have mastered these operations, they are introduced to the concept of basic equations and how they are used to solve business problems. From that point, each chapter presents a business math topic that utilizes the student's knowledge of these basic operations and equations. In keeping with the philosophy of “practice makes perfect,” the text contains over 2,000 realistic business math exercises--many with multiple steps and answers designed to prepare students to use math to make business decisions and develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Many of the exercises in each chapter are written in a “you are the manager” format, to enhance student involvement. The exercises cover a full range of difficulty levels, from those designed for beginners to those requiring moderate to challenge-level skills.

Customer Reviews:

EXCELLENT BOOK EASY TO UNDERSTAND.......2007-01-12

Im a college student and when I first started using this book I said to myself this is like H.S math. Little did I know it does get more complicated but its on a college level as you go on. It takes you back to the basic mathematics and then to a college level mathematics. I liked the book very much so. There is also a answer key in the book (but only for the the odd #'s)which is very useful as well.

great book, alot of examples.......2002-01-26

I think this book is great, becareful not to get the instructors edition, I got that edition by mistake then ordered a student editon used, it did not come with the cd like it said it would.

Excellent textbook!.......2000-04-28

This book was incredibly helpful for a college class in Business Math. Many of the adults in my class had not studied any sort of math in years. This book made the subject easy with great examples succinct and thorough summaries. Recommend it for other teachers in the same area.

Good review of basic business math!.......1999-04-29

There are several typos in this book, but don't let that get you down. This is an excellant review of business math. It begins with the basics of operations, and then progresses to more complex formulas. It will help everyone from business majors to consumers to better manage their money.

Contemporary Business 2006 (with Audio CD-ROM and InfoTrac )

Average customer rating:

One of the best textbooks i've ever read!

Contemporary Business 2006 (with Audio CD-ROM and InfoTrac )
Louis E. Boone , and David L. Kurtz
Manufacturer: South-Western College Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0324320892

Book Description

CONTEMPORARY BUSINESS 2006, is updated and even better than before! Containing the most important introductory business topics, this paperback text also includes the most current information available in any business text, and the best supplementary package in the business. You'll find this new paperback updated edition of Contemporary Business creates excitement about the world of business for your students as well as helping them improve their critical thinking skills. Opening new doors of possibility can be difficult - Contemporary Business, gives students the business language they need to feel confident in taking the first steps toward becoming successful business majors and successful business people. The Best Just Got Better!

Customer Reviews:

One of the best textbooks i've ever read!.......2006-09-29

The author of this book really had the student reader in mind. He includes every aspect of business and financing in the text. He is broad but simple at the same time. I would recommend this book to anyone that is beginning to get into the business world of learning!

Industrial Organization: Contemporary Theory and Practice (with Economic Applications)

Average customer rating:

Not very clear
do not touch
Induvitably excellent book!
Induvitably excellent book!

Industrial Organization: Contemporary Theory and Practice (with Economic Applications)
Lynne Pepall , Daniel J. Richards , and George Norman
Manufacturer: South-Western College Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0324261306

Book Description

This textbook brings modern I/O analysis to the undergraduate level. Consistent with modern analysis, the authors focus explicitly on the nature of strategic interaction and make extensive use of game theoretic tools. At the same time, they never lose sight of the policy motivation behind much IO analysis. Formal analysis is combined with many practical applications, and the presentation does not assume familiarity with calculus, rather it relies on the ability to work through algebraic equations.

Customer Reviews:

Not very clear.......2007-08-10

I had a very hard time following what's going on because the language is not very clear and too verbose. The book focuses on the beauty of language rather than how to express the ideas in a clear and understandable manner. Makes simple stuff a lot harder than it should. Translating equations into words is sometimes confusing, and the concepts are too ideal that they can hardly apply to the real world situations.

do not touch.......2006-12-26

the book is filled with typo. Given that this is third edition, the author doesn't seem to pay much attention to the hw. I was a TA for this class, and it took me some times to figure out what i did wrong because the hw questions are wrong. The theories in this book can only be applied in the context of the book's examples; some of these theories are not general and can't be applied in a broad sense.

Induvitably excellent book!.......2003-11-04

Above all, it enraptured me with its practical orientation,
which really builds the economic sense at the reader. Numerous, straight superior and often also heartbreaking examples make theory well comprehensible. There doesn't lack nor more complex mathematical assecession for more serious study. 1A

Induvitably excellent book!.......2003-11-04

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