The Lexus and the Olive Tree

Description

Half of this new, post-Cold War world is intent on building a better Lexus, on streamlining their societies and economies for the global marketplace, while the other half is locked in elemental struggles over who owns which olive tree, which strip of land. The key question, addressed in this book, is how best to retain national identity and control over our lives while still linking up to the soulless, faceless global institutions in order to survive economically.

Thomas L. Friedman was UPI's Beirut correspondent from 1979 to 1981. In 1982, he became the New York Times Beirut bureau chief, winning a 1983 Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. In 1984, he moved to Jerusalem as the Times bureau chief, and in 1988 won a second Pulitzer Prize for reporting. He is also the author of the national bestseller The Lexus and the Olive Tree. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for his work on this book. He lives in Washington with his family.

'Friedman provides an excellent bird's-eye view of globalization' Financial Times