That is what Friedman meant by 'flat' is 'connected': the lowering of trade and political barriers and exponential technological advances of the digital revolution have allowed to do business, or almost everything, instantly with billions of others around the globe. This in itself should not be new for everyone. But the news that Friedman has to offer is just at the point where we stopped paying attention to these developments - when the bursting of the bubble is interest from the pages of business and technology, and when 9/11 and the war in Iraq turned eyes to the Middle East - is actually when they started to accelerate. Globalization 3.0, as he calls it,. is driven not by giant corporations or professional organizations such as the World Bank, but by individuals: office freelancers and innovative startups around the world (but especially in India and China) which can compete - and win - not just for the low-wage manufacturing and information about population, but more and more for the highest research range and design as well. (Do not forget the "mutant supply chains" as Al-Qaeda, leaving the small act of most destructive manner.) Friedman tells his revealing story with the catchy slogans and anecdotes of globe-hopping that readers of his previous books and his columns in the New York Times will know well, and with a kind of optimism Stern. He wants you say how much it is exciting to this new world is, but it also wants that you know you will be stepped on if you do not keep with it. His book is a great place to start.