Thank You for Being Late : An Optimist's Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations
By Thomas L. FriedmanA New York Times Bestseller
A field guide to the twenty-first century, written by one of its most celebrated observers
We all sense it--something big is going on. You feel it in your workplace. You feel it when you talk to your kids. You can't miss it when you read the newspapers or watch the news. Our lives are being transformed in so many realms all at once--and it is dizzying.
In Thank You for Being Late, a work unlike anything he has attempted before, Thomas L. Friedman exposes the tectonic movements that are reshaping the world today and explains how to get the most out of them and cushion their worst impacts. You will never look at the world the same way again after you read this book: how you understand the news, the work you do, the education your kids need, the investments your employer has to make, and the moral and geopolitical choices our country has to navigate will all be refashioned by Friedman's original analysis.
Friedman begins by taking us into his own way of looking at the world--how he writes a column. After a quick tutorial, he proceeds to write what could only be called a giant column about the twenty-first century. His thesis: to understand the twenty-first century, you need to understand that the planet's three largest forces--Moore's law (technology), the Market (globalization), and Mother Nature (climate change and biodiversity loss)--are accelerating all at once. These accelerations are transforming five key realms: the workplace, politics, geopolitics, ethics, and community.
Why is this happening? As Friedman shows, the exponential increase in computing power defined by Moore's law has a lot to do with it. The year 2007 was a major inflection point: the release of the iPhone, together with advances in silicon chips, software, storage, sensors, and networking, created a new technology platform. Friedman calls this platform "the supernova"--for it is an extraordinary release of energy that is reshaping everything from how we hail a taxi to the fate of nations to our most intimate relationships. It is creating vast new opportunities for individuals and small groups to save the world--or to destroy it.
Thank You for Being Late is a work of contemporary history that serves as a field manual for how to write and think about this era of accelerations. It's also an argument for "being late"--for pausing to appreciate this amazing historical epoch we're passing through and to reflect on its possibilities and dangers. To amplify this point, Friedman revisits his Minnesota hometown in his moving concluding chapters; there, he explores how communities can create a "topsoil of trust" to anchor their increasingly diverse and digital populations.
With his trademark vitality, wit, and optimism, Friedman shows that we can overcome the multiple stresses of an age of accelerations--if we slow down, if we dare to be late and use the time to reimagine work, politics, and community. Thank You for Being Late is Friedman's most ambitious book--and an essential guide to the present and the future.
Book details
- Hardcover
- 496 pages
- English
- 0374273537
- 9780374273538
About Thomas L. Friedman
thomas l. friedman is an internationally renowned author, reporter, and columnist-the recipient of three pulitzer prizes and the author of six bestselling Read More about Thomas L. Friedman
More Books By Thomas L. Friedman
That Used To Be Us: What Went Wrong with America - and How It Can Come Back
Used Book
Thank You for Being Late : An Optimist's Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations
Used Book
Hot, Flat, and Crowded 2.0 : Why We Need a Green Revolution--And How It Can Renew America
Used Book
People who bought this also bought
Out of Control : Who's Watching Our Child Protection Agencies?
Used Book
30 Day Body Purification: How to Cleanse Your Inner Body and Experience the Joys of Toxin-Free Health
Used Book
Beating the Dow Completely Revised and Updated: A High-Return, Low-Risk Method for Investing in the Dow Jones Industrial Stocks with as Little as $5,000
Used Book
Links to the Sacred: Contemorary Prayers for Golfers
Used Book
Loving without Spoiling : And 100 Other Timeless Tips for Raising Terrific Kids
Used Book
Spiritual Marketing: A Proven 5-Step Formula for Easily Creating Wealth from the Inside Out
Used Book
Heart, Smarts, Guts, and Luck: What It Takes to Be an Entrepreneur and Build a Great Business
Used Book
HBR's 10 Must Reads 2017: The Definitive Management Ideas of the Year from Harvard Business Review (with bonus article
New Book