The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century

The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century is a nonfiction book by Thomas L. Friedman. It was first published in 2005 and was updated with two new editions in 2006 and 2007. The book is a wide-ranging examination of globalization at the turn of the 21st century and its impact on the United States. The book is divided into sections that explain the origin, impact, and meaning of a “flat world.”

First, Friedman explains what he means by the term “flat world”:

It is now possible for more people than ever to collaborate and compete in real time with more other people on more different kinds of work from more different corners of the planet and on a more equal footing than at any previous time in the history of the world—using computers, e-mail, fiber-optic networks, teleconferencing, and dynamic new software (8).

The book’s first section explains how the world became flat, and Friedman provides ten forces, or ten “flatteners,” that played a role in this process. They are the fall of the Berlin Wall, Netscape’s web browser, workflow software, uploading, outsourcing, offshoring, supply-chaining, insourcing, in-forming, and the steroids (technologies that intensify the other nine forces).