From one of our most perceptive commentators and winner of the National Book Award‎,‎ a comprehensive look at the new world of globalization‎,‎ the international system that‎,‎ more than anything else‎,‎ is shaping world affairs today‎.‎ As the Foreign Affairs columnist for The New York Times‎,‎ Thomas L‎.‎ Friedman has traveled the globe‎,‎ interviewing people from all walks of contemporary life‎:‎ Brazilian peasants in the Amazon rain forest‎,‎ new entrepreneurs in Indonesia‎,‎ Islamic students in Teheran‎,‎ and the financial wizards on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley‎.‎ Now Friedman has drawn on his years on the road to produce an engrossing and original look at globalization‎.‎ Globalization‎,‎ he argues‎,‎ is not just a phenomenon and not just a passing trend‎.‎ It is the international system that replaced the Cold War system‎;‎ the new‎,‎ well‎-greased‎,‎ interconnected system‎:‎ Globalization is the integration of capital‎,‎ technology‎,‎ and information across national borders‎,‎ in a way that is creating a single global market and‎,‎ to some degreee‎,‎ a global village‎.‎ Simply put‎,‎ one can‎'‎t possibly understand the morning news or one‎'‎s own investments without some grasp of the system‎.‎ Just one example‎:‎ During the Cold War‎,‎ we reached for the hot line between the White House and the Kremlin‎-‎-a symbol that we were all divided but at least the two superpowers were in charge‎.‎ In the era of globalization‎,‎ we reach for the Internet‎-‎-a symbol that we are all connected but nobody is totally in charge‎.‎ With vivid stories and a set of original terms and concepts‎,‎ Friedman offers readers remarkable access to his unique understanding of this new world order‎,‎ and shows us how to see this new system‎.‎ He dramatizes the conflict of "the Lexus and the olive tree"‎-‎-the tension between the globalization system and ancient forces of culture‎,‎ geography‎,‎ tradition‎,‎ and community‎.‎ He also details the powerful backlash that globalization produces among those who feel brutalized by it‎,‎ and he spells out what we all need to do to keep the system in balance‎.‎ Finding the proper balance between the Lexus and the olive tree is the great drama of he globalization era‎,‎ and the ultimate theme of Friedman‎'‎s challenging‎,‎ provocative book‎-‎-essential reading for all who care about how the world really works‎.‎ From the Trade Paperback edition‎.‎