ABOUT THE BOOK Someone I worked for once said to me, “there is a difference between your sphere of influence and your sphere of concern.” That’s the challenge of Thomas Friedman’s “The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization” ‒ to grasp the awesome power of globalization while still living decidedly local lives. At least most of us do. I do. Or at least I did. Mr. Friedman has a huge wealth of stories to tell. His ability to weave together a stream of anecdotes into circumstantial evidence is impressive. Without using charts, or graphs, or abstract economic concepts, he makes a convincing case that “Globalization” is real. It’s here to stay and we better get used to it. I agree. We better get used to it. In a relatively short time the world has gone from telegraph to telephone to Internet. Combine that with sophisticated supply chains that deliver goods in a matter of hours instead of weeks or months, and you have today’s market place. MEET THE AUTHOR Scott Charles has over a decade’s worth of experience as a research analyst. Scott spent 11 years at a Fortune 500 company providing research and analytical services to marketing teams, product managers, R&D staff, and executives. His specialty is doing comprehensive deep dives to support ideation processes, identifying business opportunities, market analysis and business development. EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK Thomas Friedman’s object in The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization is to provide a framework for understanding “globalization” as an international system. Globalization, according to Friedman, is the sum total of all the various economic interests of everybody in the world. These interests are not bound by national borders, or by any particular cultural barrier. The simple clarity of the Cold War (e.g., US vs. Soviet Union) has been replaced by something more complex. Everybody is pro-globalization to the extent they benefit, and against globalization to the extent it damages their interests. The conflict therefore is about power: who has it, who wants it, and how much is it worth. Sometimes power in measured in money, sometimes in political or cultural control. Friedman knows all this, and his narrative has a few well placed caveats. The problem is in sorting out all the various dynamics. Friedman doesn’t actually set out to sort everything out, he attempts to define what is going on in the broadest sense. Simply put, globalization can be understood as the combination of advanced communications technology and supply chain management. The ideas here are nothing new: the telegraph and the Erie Canal had the same impact. A few years later, the telephone and the Panama Canal had an even bigger impact. What’s new this time around is the enormous interconnectedness of it all. The human dynamic tensions have not changed, but the speed at which the interactions happen, and the scope, is way larger. And in this new world, individuals have more power. Because the Internet changes everything. Buy a copy to keep reading!

ABOUT THE BOOK Among the worlds most enduring and exasperating struggles, Thomas Friedman attempts to lay out the philosophical, historical and fantastical story of the conflict in the Middle East with his narrative, From Beirut to Jerusalem. This book covers a deep and controversial topic area that Friedman deftly explains in a fascinating narrative that will keep you entertained, informed and wanting more. It was also the winner of the National Book Award in 1989. From the start, From Beirut to Jerusalem creates a compelling narrative that weaves in all of the important concepts involved in the Middle East conflicts. The book serves as equal parts first-hand account, historical textbook, journalistic observation, and reflection on the overarching themes of the era. The book focuses primarily on three issues that drive the overall narrative of the book. The first issue is the civil war in Lebanon, which occurred throughout the time that Friedman was living in the country. During this time, Lebanon transformed from a modern cosmopolitan nation to a chaotic, sectarian country. Friedman discusses the day to day struggles that the conflict imposed as well as the broader implications of the war. MEET THE AUTHOR Joshua Vizer is an experienced writer and a member of the Hyperink Team, which works hard to bring you high-quality, engaging, fun content. Happy reading! EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK From Beirut to Jerusalem is structured into three main portions, based on three major geographies. Each portion of the books is a location that hints at the greater theme of the section. The first portion is titled Beirut and follows the authors life in that city. In this portion, he primarily focuses on the Lebanese civil war as well as the Arab world as a whole. The second portion is titled Jerusalem and is concerned mainly with Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Finally, the third section is called Washington and comments mostly on the American and global perspective on the Middle East. Each section takes the reader through the different points of view, shaping forces and major figures in the debate. Friedman is able to use is unique reporting and writing skills to provide the reader a sense of the critical points for understanding each region. Buy a copy to keep reading! CHAPTER OUTLINE Quicklet on Thomas Friedman's From Beirut to Jerusalem Thomas Friedman's From Beirut to Jerusalem + About the Book + Book Construction + Book Origins + Author Bio + ...and much more

ABOUT THE BOOK The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century is Thomas Friedman's account of globalization: how it happened, what it means, and what we should be aware of when discussing the subject. Friedman's inspiration for the book came about as he was traveling to India on assignment for the Discovery Channel. The topic of the documentary was outsourcing. It came as something of a shock to Friedman to find out how many tasks actually could be outsourced, from tax preparation to reading X-rays. More shocking was the realization that globalization wasn't just about jobs. It is about culture, hopes, dreams, imaginations, and the future. If that seems like the rhetoric of romance, so be it. Because that is the way Friedman sees it, and that's the way he wrote it. For Friedman, the confluence of political, social and technological events in the last few decades has been nothing short of astounding. After Bangalore, he is looking at the world through new eyes. The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century was published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in 2005. The "Updated and Expanded" edition, reviewed here, was published in 2006. MEET THE AUTHOR Scott Charles has over a decade's worth of experience as a research analyst. Scott spent 11 years at a Fortune 500 company providing research and analytical services to marketing teams, product managers, R&D staff, and executives. His specialty is doing comprehensive deep dives to support ideation processes, identifying business opportunities, market analysis and business development.

Quicklets: Your Reading Sidekick! ABOUT THE BOOK Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution and How it Can Renew America, is the follow-up and companion piece to his 2005 bestseller The World is Flat.: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century. In it he takes themes developed in The World is Flat the flattening of the world by means of the personal computer, internet, and the software that both share and applies it to the burgeoning Green movement. Published in 2008, it sharply critiques Americas stance on the environmental impact of its massive consumption of energy and how the world as a whole is following Americas wasteful lead. Friedman uses his experience and analytical eye as a foreign affairs columnist with The New York Times to further examine the political impact of the Wests love affair with Middle Eastern oil. He uses this analysis to draw correlations between oil markets and the democracy of oil-producing countries. He describes how a hotter, more crowded world with a more level playing field has combined to create a system where American-style appetites for energy continue to grow worldwide, threatening biodiversity and the development for new, cleaner energy technologies. MEET THE AUTHOR Lucretius Coleman is a writer, physicist, husband, father, and curmudgeon. He hopes to build the world's first practical quantum computer when not busy writing the next Great American Novels. He loves it when science, technology, and pop culture intersect to create the Eureka! moments that drive the world's greatness. When not making fun of his wife's affinity for trashy romance, Lucretius spends his time reading comic books and watching The Real Housewives of Atlanta. EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK Americas place in the worlds environmental landscape is one of leadership, but not in a good way. Were resource hoggers and gas guzzlers, coal shovelers and oil junkies. While we remain firmly entrenched as the worlds economic, political, scientific, and engineering leader, Americas moral and ethical absence of a strong and coherent environmental policy threatens that dominance. Indeed, it threatens the globe. In a fluid world where innovation is at a shortage, America finds itself lacking. Americans talk about going Green but refuse to live it. In a world where 9/11 is only a memory away, and proud servicemen and women remain vigilant against the forces of terrorism and extremism, we continue to fund the enemy by sending dollars to the Middle East. In a world where growing populations strive to emulate the plush middle-class lifestyles Americans now take for granted, we continue to serve as a bad example in the areas of consumption and conservation. Buy a copy to keep reading! CHAPTER OUTLINE Thomas Friedman's Hot, Flat and Crowded + About Thomas Friedman + About the Book + Overall Summary + Chapter-by-chapter Summary and Commentary + ...and much more

The Illustrated Hen weaves a glorious, mysterious tale about Ray who has become caught in a vortex of his imagination. As Ray confronts his fears, desires, passions, even the most mundane events become curious wonders in his journey of self-realization to find away to acceptance, peace and transformation.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 Life is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you’re going to get inside. For me, an inveterate traveler and foreign correspondent, life is like room service: you never know what you’re going to find outside your door. #2 The foreign affairs columnist for The New York Times is the best job in the world. I get to travel anywhere and have attitudes about what I see and hear. But I had to decide which attitudes to use, and what would be the lens, the perspective, the organizing system through which I would look at the world. #3 I began my column as a tourist without an attitude. I was not just in some messy, incoherent, and indefinable post–Cold War world. I was in a new international system called globalization. #4 The Cold War was an international system that was characterized by division. The world was a divided-up, chopped-up place, and both your threats and opportunities grew out of who you were divided from.