Book Reviews
“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed.” Francis Bacon (d. 1626)
Hot, Flat, and Crowded
Thomas S. Friedman
New York, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2008.
Reviewed by Darold Morgan
Thomas Friedman has authored another block-buster! This New York Times columnist who has garnered multiple Pulitzer Prizes for previous volumes has come up again with a book that demands we read it, share it, and argue about it.
The intriguing title capsules the core of the book and the author identifies three major overwhelming problems the world is facing. These problems are not going away and we must deal with them. According to his premise, it is absolutely crucial that the major players in the current world scene face these massive responsibilities, and ACT! Global warming (Hot) is for real. Globalization (Flat) has given rise to dramatic increases in middle classes and their insatiable demands for better living conditions all over the world. There is an undeniable rapid population growth (Crowded), and the planet Earth is facing numbers soon beyond the ten billion level with ramifications of which are almost beyond prediction!
This volume is typical Friedman in that it is eminently readable. It is brimming with research material and interviews from experts in the field across the globe. A major point in his writings is found with his hope that a wave of new jobs will result from American entrepreneurship in these areas. How this will come about is perhaps the distinct weakness of the book. But one comes away from this writing genuinely aware of the seriousness of the issues. One hears the muffled roar from the days of Malthus and his premise that one day the population will outrun the production of food.
Though these are world-wide problems with universal implication, Friedman’s posture is that America must lead the way toward solutions and action in these areas. His evaluation of the Bush years of political dominance in world affairs is distinctly less than complimentary. He concludes that each of these problem areas have suffered accelerated complexities because of inaction, convoluted opinions as to the seriousness of the issues, and even a sense of victimization by the heavy-handed influence of powerful Washington lobbyists. He has a separate chapter on China and its position in these matters and the conclusions he draws from this massive concentration of population and industry makes it imperative that somehow progress and cooperation are so important with the rest of the world that comparisons here are beyond essentiality. It is indeed a problem for the entire universe; and with American, Chinese, European, Japanese cooperation involved, the problems can be addressed. But the bottom line is—America must lead wisely and China, in particular, must genuinely assist!
Friedman’s book has the ability to convince most people who will read and study it with an open mind which means, of course, that the preconceived positions most of us hold should be shelved at least temporarily. The major issue is global warming and what to do about it and/or what will happen if the problem continues to be ignored. Friedman’s book should be mandatory reading to the movers and shakers all over the globe because it is balanced, timely, erudite, reasonable, alarming, and controversial. It is ultimately optimistic if America and China could move intelligently and cooperatively to Friedman’s concept of Code Green. Whether or not this will happen is currently beyond prediction.
