Rating: 
Summary: The sky is falling because Barber's not in charge
Review: Barber falls within a group of intellectuals whose bond is that they decry changes in our world that they see as being dangerous. Dangerous because they happen too fast, or because they supposedly push aside community, or spirituality, or some other good. Whether you agree with this general view or not, you would be better served by reading Leszek Kolakowski or Christopher Lasch, who are actually learned historians who see the interconnectedness of things, have a longer view of history, and have learned some of its lessons. Even the lighter-weight Lewis Lapham (Lasch's intellectual little brother), who sometimes lapses into Chicken Little-speak, has more perspective. Here Barber is concerned with bad old corporations and our global consumer culture, which strip away all societal bonds, leaving the masses - who aren't as smart as Barber - with only an insecure, violent tribalism to fall back on for a sense of identity. If only pundits like Barber could decide what is best, and plan out our futures in a controlled fashion, we would be better off. Of course, we wouldn't get to decide very much for ourselves, and a great quantity of unforseen changes and advances would have to wait, in the name of forestalling evil influences on our culture. Fear not, an available antidote to this book is Virginia Postrel's "The Future and its Enemies." Barber should relax; though things are changing quickly, people have frequently felt that way, and reading a few history books might educate him that cultures that plowed on ahead may transform themselves, but will wind up better off.
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Summary: Weak Attack on Capitalism
Review: In this book the author shows both a complete missunderstanding of capitialism and an overwhelming desire to attack it. Simple knowledge of economics tells us that companies try to create and sell products people want. It is nearly impossible to convince people to buy something they don't want (remember Crystal Pepsi), yet Barber argues this is what McWorld corporations are doing all over the world. He fails to realize that there is an amazing demand for all things American all around the world and American companies are meeting that demand. Instead of demonizing capitalism, he should be celebrating its accomplishments in making America, Europe, and East Asia healthier, wealthier, and wiser. Moreover, capitalism has helped to force dictatorial regimes such as those in China and Vietnam to at least make some concessions to their people in order to trade with the U.S. The book is worth a quick read to laugh at his failed predictions of U.S. decline (he even called the U.S. economy a "rust bucket").
Rating: 
Summary: An illuminating experience!
Review: This book is a must for anyone interested in marketing or in how marketing is used to manipulate the choices we make. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who still believes in the myth that democracies are a natural output of capitalism.
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Summary: This book is a must-read for the world's citizenry.
Review: Well-respected political scientist and prolific writer Benjamin Barber's "Jihad vs. McWorld" illuminates probably the most profound and compelling argument facing us today, tribalism vs. mass consumerism. Jihad vs. McWorld is the pulling of two major socia-political forces upon the citizenry of the world, jettisoning democracy precariously towards extinction. "Jihad" as articulated in the book represents extremist tribalist nature of fundamentalist cultures. It is the study of self-serving groups, whether they be of religious factions, nation-states, or various political ideologues. Their only goal is to secure the preservation of their culture and to influence those from outside their belief system. The result is warring tribes, i.e. the feuding ideologies of the Serbia-Croat battles, the plight of the Middle East, Northern Ireland's "religious" war, and the bombing of the Oklahoma Federal State building. "Jihad" leaves no room for a free-thinking civil democracy and absolutely abhors influences from outside it's realm, hence it's ardent distrust of Western consumerist ideology - McWorld. McWorld is the term coined to define the mass consumerist ideology of global marketing. McWorld is not so much a place but is a consumerist behavior. McWorld crosses all cultural boundaries whether they be open free markets or closed sacrilegious cultures. McWorld has not a human face but a bullish influence. McWorld's ultimate goal is to integrate every nation, every country, every person, every thing into a global market, whether they be mass consumers as pompously displayed as the obesity of the "West" or as manufacturers such as in the Nike corporation's child-labour sweatshops in Thailand. Jihad vs. McWorld provides profound insight into the use of multi-media and global communications for McWorld to spread it's influence. Jihad vs. McWorld is eloquently written and provides hard, factual insights without becoming alarmist. Benjamin Barber provides the reader with though! t-provoking questions that we as a society have been too lax in addressing and bold solutions that our present political systems can't seem to accommodate. An excellent book, I strongly recommended it.
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Summary: This is important!
Review: An important book, indeed. Barber reveals much of what is lost on most people with regards to the globalisation phenomonen. Far more realistic than Huntington, and if one also reads Hans-Peter Martin's "Global Trap", the chaos all around us seems a little clearer, if not making complete sense. Written in an unpretentious, accessible style, with detailed footnoting and refrences, this book should be compulsaray reading for those who feel a little confused about the way we're all heading.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but incomplete.
Review: I would echo the praise for this book here. I'd also say it's a little shortsighted technologically. Yes, the net could have negative social impacts, but I think it could be a major saving force for democracy, on a global level...
I'd like to see Barber do some work on the posssiblity of democratization of democratic discourse itself, which possibility is only available in a heavily networked environment.
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Summary: On the whole very convincing, though some weaknesses
Review: Although it has been sometime since I read this book, as I recall, I thought the book, on the whole, was very insightful and serves as a wake-up call. Barbour argues that our society is flying headlong into a culture of consumerism. Furthermore, consumerism is becoming our national identity. An identity lacking citizenry, civility, and culture. On a global scale, the consumer culture is exported to other non-consumer, non-western countries, particularly, Middle-Eastern and Eastern-European cultures (Cultures where religion and morals are deeply in-grained), thereby creating a violent paroxysm in response. This export product acts as a new form of colonialism. Corporations involved in telecommunications and media control the information content to other countries, to the cultural distaste of the "importing" country. What is sad, is that the product is often imposed against the will of "importing" countries by corporations. Strikingly, these corporations are often owned or controlled by a media elite, counter to putative antitrust laws of the originating country-namely the U.S. Despite the manifestation of protest (terrorism), corporations offer the excuse of "free speech and democracy" for sending these media to other countries. As if other countries do not have the right to determine what is in their cultural best interest.
Where the book fails, is the author's understanding of Islam and muslim culture. Although, rightfully so, Barbour denounces Islamic Radicalism as inhumane. However, what Barbour fails to point out is that the vast majority of muslims also condemn this behaviour as unislamic,and find the stifling of free thought as contrary to Islamic philosophy and thinking. Perhaps, due to European colonialism, the Middle-East is particularly sensitized to this form of colonialism because it runs counter to the ideals of Islam.
In sum, it is a book I whole-heartedly reccommend. So few books on the market have any thought put into them, perhaps symptomatic of a culture without content, this book is an exception
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: This book accomplishes its mission (challenge & threaten our ethno-centric views about American capitalism & democracy) so well, that it has generated the overreaction and critism of the other reviewers on this site. Barber illicits us to ask very painful questions about our society and its future, and needless to say, such a provocative book creates controversy. However, Barber's merits should not be judged by whether you agree with his theories. The book is very well researched & documentated and Barber does a nice job of tying philosophy, economics, politics, sociology into a neat and comprehensive view of humanity. My only criticism is that he tends to overuse the jargon d'jour, and the book can be dry reading at times. I highly recommend this book to anyone who perceives the decline of the American empire and is looking for clear, concise diagnostics and remedies.
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Summary: Don't fail to read this if you're new to Earth
Review: In today's world, various forms of parochialism have a dialectical relationship with the homogenizing influences of globalizing consumer capitalism. These forms of parochialism may be ethnic, "cultural," religious, nationalistic, etc., depending on where you look. On one hand, ancient forms of identity continue to define in-groups and out-groups; on the other hand, multinational corporations elide these differences as they operate in a wider and wider worldwide marketplace.
Example: the Turks and the Armenians hate each other and even partly define themselves by this ancient conflict ("Jihad" is Barber's label for this); yet they see the same Pepsi ads and do the same kinds of work in their local Pepsi bottling plants ("McWorld" is Barber's label for this).
That's the book.
This might be a useful resource for writers of term papers who need to endnote something fairly obvious. Outside of that, it would take an observer from another planet to find this book's insights novel or pointed. If you're new to planet Earth, by all means pick up a copy. It will catch you up on a few useful truisms.
As others have pointed out, the "terrorism's challenge to democracy" subtitle seems intended to capitalize on 9/11, but doesn't accurately reflect the book's content. "Jihad" is deployed as a synecdoche in this book; Muslim extremism is just one of the book's many examples of parochialism.
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Summary: Doesn't address Israel enough
Review: There are 3 entries in the Index for "Israel". None of which will lead you to any indepth analysis of Israel and the current role it plays in Jihad / McWorld dialectic. Nor is there much mention of Jews and how they have preserved cohesiveness in the face of modernity. There are so many places where such mention seems waranted - sometimes as just another example and sometimes as the exception to the rule... an exception that may disprove the rule.
Nevertheless, Lots of good ideas within. Entertaining writing style. The book is so fun to read that I was on page 236 before I realized this glaring omission.
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