Rating: 
Summary: More important today than the day it was published--A Must
Review: I have taken this book off my shelf and started to go through it once again in light of current events.
Benjamin Barber is an asounding and elucidating writer and this work gives him the imprimature of the voice in the wilderness. This without doubt is a work that must be considered.
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Summary: Relevant Today
Review: Benjamin Barber wrote this book which has become the foundation of Globalization awareness for many of us today. Barber has an extensive and well-put vocabulary. One does not have to read this from beginning to end, but by various chapter by chapter throughout the entire book. There are tons of empirical data, research, and historical footnotes in "Jihad Vs. McWorld." He provides and accurate and objective picture of what our world is transforming into today: the world is becoming smaller and more culturally homogenous. Barber doesn't focus on negative or positive aspects but on the over-all ramifications. What are the motivations? The causes? This book lists many. Transnational corporate makeups, international job allocation, and consumerism in many areas of the world, can lead to diminished liberty and political and cultural autonomy, and lesser quality of life. "Robert Murdochization," the daily extinction of languages, and massive destruction of our environment are occurring. Overpopulation is one of the major causes. One of hundreds of examples is the 1994 Chinese auto-mobilization policy of 1994. what would be the effects of a nation of 1.3 billion people acquiring mass ownership of cars? The global mineral and fossil fuel supply would be exhausted in about 5 years. Can developed nations tell LDNs not to acquire automobiles when they themselves produce, export, and use them daily? Who is the biggest energy user, and waster in the world? The United States. Yet we must however, tell other nations' what they "should and should not do," because of the negative effects on the environment. Those in former Communist countries risked their freedom to read certain works to forsake them for MTV, Coca-Cola & Baywatch. It shows that the needs and wants have changed now that "freedom" is more available. This book is not anti-consumerist nor anti-mass consumption. Read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Alarmist but relevant
Review: This is something of an alarmist book in many ways, but it is nonetheless valuable, not least because five years after it was first published many of the author's arguments still stand. Barber can probably be additionally criticized for employing two catchy but overly simplified buzzwords to describe the complex problems surrounding globalization and the reaction to it. Also, even though he by no means exclusively or even primarily singles out Islamic fundamentalism as a peril to the world order, just his use of the term 'Jihad' as a metaphor for the new, anti-modern nationalisms and religious intolerance seen worldwide nevertheless indicates a measure of Orientalism. Most of the shortcomings derive from that fact that the author is a political scientist who specializes in issues of democracy and civil society rather than fractious nationalism and global economics - the two main topics of the book. Thus, in his discussion of the post-communist states of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, he often resorts to the now tired and superficial platitudes of 'tribalism' or 'ancient hatreds' to explain the rise of recent ugly incarnations of intolerant nationalism in this region (he even goes so far as to echo the mass media's favorite 'Balkans expert' Robert Kaplan by citing Dracula-writer Bram Stoker in a description of modern Romania). Barber makes the additional mistake of assuming that the nationalist movements are driven by simplistic ideologies aimed solely at tearing apart existing nation-states; even if this is often the end result, most if not all of these movements claim as their objective the overthrow of foreign tyranny as they see it and the creation of some form of popular democracy. Even so, Barber correctly points out the danger of new or renewed nationalisms and divisive calls for self-determination (a very loaded and ambiguous concept), a danger that's still very prevalent in international politics. Barber is best when he points out that free markets do not necessarily mean democracy, in contrast to free market gurus, Cato Institute libertarians and Jeffrey Sachs, the chief proponent of 'shock therapy' in transitional economies. He offers the examples of market economics failures in Russia and the former East Germany as damning evidence to support his argument. "Jihad vs. McWorld" has a number of flaws, but the author's arguments are coherent and it is an often useful cautionary text.
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Summary: An Education Into Civil Society
Review: This book really sparked my interest in political philosophy! Benjamin Barber presents an array of facts that shed light upon tensions that are developing through globalism. It was a great book due to its eye-opening information. A dream for which we should strive.
Rating: 
Summary: Factual & Eye Opening
Review: Barber does a superb job in bringing together many mysteries that have aluded me for many years. I understand the many problems in our world, but not what caused them. The tone of the book is more exciting than won would think (don't get me rong, it is no thriller). Be careful though, underneath this great book is Barber who is a bit persuasive. Overall, this is a must read for those who havent dabbled in the subject of "Jihad Vs. McWorld"
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Summary: Good ideas, mediocre execution
Review: Barber's book should be lauded for its many thought-provoking ideas. With the downplay of ideology and national borders in the 21st century, the forces Barber labels as "McWorld" and "Jihad" are certainly coming to the forefront in world politics, and this books provides a good introduction to them. However, Barber is overwhelmingly alarmist in his predictions and too often claims rhetorical victory after providing a hollow argument. Read this book to educate yourself on the concepts of Jihad and McWorld--to see what they are and how they might contribute to global development in the 21st century. But take everything Barber says with a grain of salt, for while his arguments are long on rhetorical flourish, they are short on vigorous, factual reasoning.
Rating:
Summary: A Thought Provoking Read!
Review: I think the whole idea of the McWorld vs. the Jihad is brilliant. The author did a great job explaining both worlds and how in many ways they cause each other and how they effect society and democracy. Personally, I found the author to come off a bit snobby at times and I felt the last couple of chapters wound down in economic jargon that I did not fully understand. I am a history person and I do not have much background in economics, so it is easy to confuse me. However, on the whole this book was great. It was very readable and the book always made you think. The world of religious extremism scares me. Whether it is ultraorthodox Jews, born-again Christians, or the real Jihad I am not a fan of religious extremism. The idea of McWorld really does not scare me that much. I have been to China and seen Pepsi posters on every corner and KFC's on every street. I really do not think that is such a bad thing. What scares me about McWorld was best illustrated in NY recently with Disney vs. Time Warner. The world of music, computers, sports teams, stadiums,internet, movies, etc. is increasingly more and more under the control of a very few people and groups. I do not think that is a good trend at all. That scares me much more than seeing a Kenny Rogers Roasters in Beijing. I highly recommend this book. It is easy to read, until the last few pages, and will make you think. Read this and then pick up any of the great works of Robert D. Kaplan and compare.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing, if not embarrassingly simplistic
Review: This book, although on the surface laudable for its engagement with the complexities of global capitalism ("McWorld") and the search for group identities, fails to provide a truly thorough account of the ways in which "Jihad" and "McWorld" really function in today's world. The limits of his project are set at the outset through his implicit Humanism, which allows him to universalize the word "Jihad"-a multivalent term arising out of a complex Islamic history-to cover Hindu, American Protestant, Islamic, Buddhist, and every other imaginable fundamentalism. Although the book at the outset self-consciously attempts to expand the meaning of the (Islamic) term, there is a contradiction in its discussion of Islamic fundamentalism: "Jihad has been a metaphor for anti-Western anti-universalist struggle throughout this book. The question is whether it is more than just a metaphor in the Muslim culture that produced the term" (207). Isn't the author forgetting his earlier discussion of the ways in which he is consciously appropriating a word that happens to come from the Muslim world? First, the argument associates the word with parochialism, narrow-mindedness, and violence only to later claim that he meant to use the word metaphorically in regards to non-Islamic fundamentalism; as for the Islamic world, Barber implies that "Jihad" is no longer metaphoric. The analysis falls into the too-easy trap of Western writing on Islam by implying that parochialism, narrow-mindedness, and violence are inherent in the Islamic world. "Muslim culture" may have produced the word "Jihad" (which, even in the Muslim context is an often contested term with meanings that drastically differ) but the word is poorly appropriated here, only to imply that since Muslim culture produced it, perhaps Islam is the base for parochial narrow-mindedness in the world. By universalizing and misusing the term "Jihad" the book overlooks the specificity of each fundamentalism: "As the Muslim Brotherhood saw in Christianity a crusading corruptor, Know-Nothing American Protestants back in the 1880's saw in Mediterranean Catholic immigrants a grave peril to the American Republic, just as nervous Californians today worry about illegal Latino immigrants . . ." (212). The careless linking of these three disparate "fundamentalisms" (or "Jihad," as Barber would prefer to write) overlook, respectively, issues of decolonization, commerce and immigration, and racism / cultural imperialism. But perhaps the most careless omission in this book is a lack of engagement with Zionism and the formation of the state of Israel, which inform so much of the global fundamentalist motivation and rhetoric, while at the same time having implications for the nature and scope of "Americanization" and global capital (or, "McWorld"). In fact, Zionism is never mentioned in the text as an example of fundamentalism, and Israel is rarely alluded to. It would seem that any discussion of globalization, the modern nation-state, fundamentalism, and democracy would have to engage with the formation of Israel. In addition it would have to recognize the specificty of fundamentalisms, especially those arising in ex-colonial countries. Imperialism, colonialism, and decolonization are also issues noticeably absent in "Jihad vs. McWorld," a book which claims to discuss global themes without taking into account the way in which most of the globe is engaged in various processes of decolonization.
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Summary: There's a lesson in extremes...
Review: I agree that Barber's bombardment of statistical data began to cloud the skies of a targeted philosophy on the subject...but the fact of the matter is, no other book mixes an extreme of RELEVANT AND CONTEMPORARY statistics with a voice so easily read as Barber's. For the novice wishing introduction into the phenomenon of how Western ideals, both socially and economically, trickle down into the agendas and aspirations of other cultures, this book offers a keen insight. I'm not about to argue that Barber encaptured all that is globalization with one effort, (it is true that Barber's personal bias shines through sometimes like a high beam on a country road,) but I can't think of a more focused and tangible piece of literature on the subject, one that students and professors alike can benefit from reading. Indeed, globalization's stage is comprised of a multitude of diciplines and factors with history playing the lead role, but the sphere of globalization isn't a relic - its influence and reign grows larger everyday as it is as much a modern phenomenon as it is a historical one. Before one tackles focused perspectives like Fukyama or Chomsky, Barber's Jihad opens eyes and renders the issues relevant and open to be discussed. Isn't that what a good professor does?
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Summary: Decide for yourself
Review: I have mixed feelings about this book. I think that it raises important questions about the roles that consumerism and factionalism play in our world. At the same time, I agree with the other reviewers who point out that the author is too grim and misunderstands much of the benefits of global capitalism. But give the author credit in recognizing that that the wave of history is in our favor. Mr. Barber does well as a voice of caution. His book is worth reading. Just take it with a grain of salt.
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