Rating: 
Summary: A must read for anyone interested in the Middle East
Review: Friedman takes the complicated issues surrounding 9/11 and explains why it happened but more important what shoudl our reaction be. HE IS BRILLIANT!A must read for anyone who wants to understand.
Rating:
Summary: Understanding The World After 9/11
Review: Towards the end of "Longitudes and Attitudes," Thomas Friedman states "we are not at the beginning of the end of understanding (September 11th) or its implications." While that may be certainly true, this collection of New York Times columns and diary entries from Friedman go a very long way in understanding why that terrible day happened and why the world still has a long way to go in preventing such tragedies in the future. The book is quick and easy reading with Friedman packing an amazing amount of information in a short amount of space. It is easy to see why Friedman has multiple Pulitzer Prizes for his commentary. Hopefully I am not alone in feeling somewhat embarrassed about how much I did not know about what is/has been going on in the world. Since this book is basically a re-hash of Friedman's columns, regular readers of the NY Times will find much of "Longitudes" old material. Likewise, in reading the columns over a short period of time, one notices recurring themes in Friedman's writing. But any repetitiveness only serves to drive home some very important points. Friedman leans to the liberal side of the political fence, so staunch Bush supporters and/or those who do not have warm and fuzzy feelings about ex-president Clinton may get a bit riled up at times. But hopefully this will not detract anyone from reading this enlightening and thought-provoking volume and should not be merely dismissed as yet another 9/11 entry on the bestseller lists. Simply put, in this sometimes scary and still uncertain world, "Longitudes" should be required reading for every American.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Understanding
Review: ...every page delivers words and thoughts that make you think. While we may not always agree with everything the author says, he at least has the courage to open a serious dialogue about the effects of bigotry, theocracies, and flawed policies. I have lived and worked in the North Africa/Middle East region for more than 20 years and recommend this book to anyone with an interest in this subject. Well done Mr. Friedman!
Rating: 
Summary: A Little Something for Everyone?
Review: I've long suspected that what most people like about Tom Friedman is his ability to express ideas and feelings they themselves have been struggling to articulate. He boasts of this skill in the introduction to Longitudes and Attitudes (xi). I've also suspected that people often find themselves in agreement with Friedman because he changes his mind so often that within a few pages he's managed to take every possible side of any given question. In his September 13, 2001 entry Friedman repeats the oft-heard critique that the Arab world is woefully lacking in democratically-elected governments, and is instead populated by leaders who tolerate no dissent. He is, of course, correct in this observation. But his very next entry (Sept. 14) paints the Muslim world as fighting a "civil war" in which "we need to strengthen the good guys" in Egypt, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Pakistan. Who are these good guys he wants to strengthen, how, and to what end? Does Friedman want Arab democracy or not? The answer seems to come in his next entry (Sept. 18), in which he calls Jordan's King 'Abd'allah "one of America's real friends," and adds that "Jordan is a country with a decent government... [and] is becoming a good Arab model for how to do things right." It appears that Friedman's desire for democratically-elected Arab governments has lasted all of four days. He seems now to prefer a near-bankrupt hereditary monarchy that has thrice squashed its own parliament when they proved too "democratic" (i.e., anti-Israel) for the king's foreign-policy requirements. Ah, but by June 19, 2002, he's changed his mind yet again, and praises the Iranian experiment in democracy, 'Axis of Evil' notwithstanding. What are the main reasons that Jordan wins his praise? Friedman points out that Amman is "drawing US investors," and is "the first Arab country to sign a free-trade agreement with the United States..." He is equally garish in his suggestion (Oct. 16, 2001) that the Saudi Prince al-Walid "do something useful with [his] $10 million... endow American Studies departments in all Saudi universities." In his next essay he rattles off a list of what "we need" to make America safer: Muslim allies, cooperative Arab leaders, cooperative Muslim spiritual leaders, and "to begin taking seriously the task of improving governance in these failing states."His November 13 essay on the Pakistani "street" concludes with a plea for Americans to "return armed with modern books and schools..." to create, "a generation as hospitable to our policies as to our burgers." This, then, is Friedman's one recurring and (mostly) consistent mantra: the United States is not doing enough to make the Muslim world more useful to and compliant with American interests. It is, however, marvelously Friedmanesque that he can hold this world-view and simultaneously criticize the Bush administration for its America-First unilateralism. That, in turn is no more of a contradiction than Friedman's opposition to the erosion of personal liberties in the fight against terrorism, while simultaneously mocking Silicon Valley executives for being paranoid about the government's desire for the "Clipper Chip" that would give "the government a back-door key to all US encrypted data." (May 26, 2002). If reviewing a book of newspaper editorials is difficult, then offering a critique of a Pulitzer Prize-winning author is nothing short of futile. Friedman's book was a best-seller from the moment it was unloaded from the delivery trucks. I cannot offer any insight into whether it makes for satisfying reading for those with a modicum of knowledge about the Middle East. It is not, however, a scholarly work, nor of value to scholars, other than perhaps as a time capsule of an articulate and well-traveled man's day-by-day impressions in the year following September 11th.
Rating:
Summary: Insight in less that 1,000 words
Review: ..... Tom Friedman is like that friend that you love chatting with at a dinner party. His columns are written in a conversational, unpretentious style, and he refreshingly confines himself to making one point during a particular essay. In "From Beirut to Jerusalem," he writes that one should remember that when discussing the Middle East, people go slightly insane. This is usually true. But Tom doesn't. He makes us realize that neither the Arabs or the Israelis are without flaws, and he approaches each issue with a good deal of horse sense. I love that this is a collection of essays. If you ever swear that you should be more informed about the Middle East, but don't have the time, then buy this book. Forgive the crudity, but if you just use this as bathroom reading, you'll be much better informed about the issues that are so important to us today.
Rating:
Summary: Four Stars
Review: These essays were very informative, thought-provoking and witty. Several times I found myself laughing out loud. I really admire the journalists who visit these unstable, backward regions just so they can bring us an authentic opinion on current events. The diary portion, however, was somewhat repetitive of what had already been told in the columns. I think it should have been edited a bit more. This was a very engrossing book, I read it in 2 days and it's nearly 400 pages long. Of course I had to finish it quickly because we have a line of people waiting to read it at the library.
Rating:
Summary: Good Compilations
Review: Thomas Friedman has written a compilation of columns between 12-2000 and 7-2002 as a foreign correspondent for the New York Times. Twice a week from his position on the Times' opinion page, he has written about international affairs, the Middle East, or whatever has struck his fancy. This book has also included the 9/11 columns, to include travel notes that didn't quite make it into print, and his insights into the Muslim world after years of living and reporting from there. This is an interesting perspective, from a well-known and highly respected journalist.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing - I expected More from Thomas Friedman
Review: I expected more from Thomas Friedman, especially after Lexus and the Olive Tree. This book is a MONEY GRAB - plain and simple. there is nothing in this book but WORD-FOR-WORD reprints of his NY TImes columns over the past year. WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY. My copy is for sales if someone wants it.
Rating:
Summary: A Collection of Wisdom
Review: Superbly written and thought out, as always with Tom Friedman.
I was just disappointed to find it a collection of editorials rather than a nice, long non-fiction book like "From Beirut......".
Rating:
Summary: He is The Expert on This Subject
Review: It really is a pleasure to read such well written essays. The author does a wonderful job of explaining an opinion in a short period of time. As you have read the book is in three parts, columns before September 11, columns after September 11th and some commentary at the end of the book to expand on his columns. He just provides a clear and insightful way to look at the issues surrounding the Middle East - I found myself learning a good deal from the book. I also found his comments about Bush 2 and Clinton interesting, I felt he gave them both equal amounts of praise and grief. I also found the descriptions of the current cultural situations in places like Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait interesting and eye-opening, although it did seam that the author has a bone to pick with Saudi Arabia and probably rightly so. I think the only issue I would have with the book is that many thoughts are repeated. Given that 60% of the book were bi-weekly columns I understand why he needed to repeat themes and statements for the column reader, but in a book it tends to be a little repetitive. I got the most enjoyment out of his overview in the back. I would suggest that you spread the book out of a week or so, so that the repeating issues are not so much in the forefront of your view of the book. Other then this minor point the book is very interesting and well written. I read it over a weekend, it moved very fast. He has some very unique ideas that make you stop and think about how you perceive a certain situation.
| 
