Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How It Can Renew America
Written by Thomas L. Friedman
Narrated by Oliver Wyman
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
Thomas L. Friedman's no. 1 bestseller The World Is Flat has helped millions of readers to see globalization in a new way. Now Friedman brings a fresh outlook to the crises of destabilizing climate change and rising competition for energy—both of which could poison our world if we do not act quickly and collectively. His argument speaks to all of us who are concerned about the state of America in the global future.
Friedman proposes that an ambitious national strategy— which he calls "Geo-Greenism"—is not only what we need to save the planet from overheating; it is what we need to make America healthier, richer, more innovative, more productive, and more secure.
As in The World Is Flat, he explains a new era—the Energy-Climate era—through an illuminating account of recent events. He shows how 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the flattening of the world by the Internet (which brought 3 billion new consumers onto the world stage) have combined to bring climate and energy issues to Main Street. But they have not gone very far down Main Street; the much-touted "green revolution" has hardly begun. With all that in mind, Friedman sets out the clean-technology breakthroughs we, and the world, will need; he shows that the ET (Energy Technology) revolution will be both transformative and disruptive; and he explains why America must lead this revolution—with the first Green President and a Green New Deal, spurred by the Greenest Generation.
Hot, Flat, and Crowded is classic Thomas L. Friedman—fearless, incisive, forward-looking, and rich in surprising common sense about the world we live in today.
Reviews for Hot, Flat, and Crowded
35 ratings30 reviews
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Thomas Friedman does a good job of synthesizing the elements of contemporary society into trends and themes and he makes a convincing case for the direction he would like to see the United States move towards. While this book is very readable overall, at times (particularly towards the beginning of the book) Friedman's frequent and repetitive analogies and metaphors, combined with multiple short stories explaining the same point, sort of made it feel like Friedman was hitting a hammer on his readers' heads to get the point across. And since most people likely wouldn't even pick up and read this book if they didn't already somewhat agree with the opinions expressed in this book, that kind of writing just insults the reader.
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- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Friedman gives us a beautiful view into a future in which we no longer have to destroy our earth to live out our normal daily lives. Unfortunately, we have a long way to go before we can get to this utopian life. Friedman explains the problems facing us today in terms that anyone can understand and supports his arguments with other expert opinions. If your not an environmentalist already, this book will make you one.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is a book well worth reading and passing around. I didn’t agree with everything Friedman said, but I cheered his main points. He dissects the energy problem, especially in the US and China, and concludes that it isn’t just a major problem but also an exciting opportunity.
His central message is that green energy is more economical when you add up the hidden costs of dirty fuels, and that it spurs the kind of innovation that keeps a society vital. He believes that we can live in a healthy and sustainable way without sacrificing our creature comforts. And I agree that individual sacrifices won’t save this planet; it will take a larger public policy. This book details a number of ways in which public policies intersect with ecological imperatives, how they often fail and how they can succeed. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Mr. Friedman makes some excellent points about the combined effects of climate change, globalization, and population growth. I found his explanation of climate change as "climate wierding" to better explain the problems associated with global warming than Al Gore's sometimes overblown threats. However, this book reads as if it were written on the fly. It would be much better if it were better edited and shorter. I would have given a shorter version all five stars.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Friedman connects all the dots again, and once again I'm left feeling hopeless and depressed about the state of our world. This book is enough to make you compulsive about shutting off lights and driving to work--even though he mentions that probably won't help, sigh.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Very interesting book but it could easily have been written in under 200 pages. too much repetition repetition repetition. Although I agree with all his points he takes a long time to get to the point. Still worth reading though.