In THE WORLD IS FLAT, the highly-regarded New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman advances the work on globalization that made his THE LEXUS AND THE OLIVE TREE a bestseller. Claiming that the world is now at an important historical point--as important as the changes brought by the discoveries by Columbus or by the Industrial Revolution--Friedman analyzes the events, inventions, and business practices that have resulted in a changed world, one he calls Globalization 3.0. In this "brave new world," the economic playing field has been leveled: whereas the economic prizes formerly went to rich and powerful western nations almost by default, all is now up for grabs, according to Friedman.