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  • Thank You for Being Late

  • An Optimist's Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations
  • By: Thomas L. Friedman
  • Narrated by: Mr Oliver Wyman
  • Length: 19 hrs and 47 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (132 ratings)
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Thank You for Being Late cover art

Thank You for Being Late

By: Thomas L. Friedman
Narrated by: Mr Oliver Wyman
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Summary

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Thank You for Being Late by Thomas L. Friedman, read by Oliver Wyman.

From the Pulitzer Prize winner and No.1 international bestselling author of The World is Flat, an essential and entertaining field guide to thriving in the twenty-first century.

We all sense it - something big is going on. You feel it in your workplace. You feel it when you talk to your children. You can't miss it when you read the newspapers or watch the news. Our lives are speeding up - and it is dizzying.

In Thank You for Being Late, a work unlike any he has attempted before, Thomas L. Friedman exposes the tectonic movements that are reshaping the world today and explains how to get the most out of them.

Friedman's thesis is that to understand the twenty-first century, you need to understand that the planet's three largest forces - Moore's law (technology), the market (globalization) and Mother Nature (climate change and biodiversity loss) - are all accelerating at once, transforming the workplace, politics, geopolitics, ethics and community. An extraordinary release of energy is reshaping everything from how we hail a taxi to the fate of nations to our most intimate relationships. It is creating vast new opportunities for individuals and small groups to save the world - or perhaps to destroy it.

Thank You for Being Late is a work of contemporary history that serves as a field manual for how to think about this era of accelerations. It's also an argument for 'being late' - for pausing to appreciate this amazing historical epoch we're passing through and reflecting on its possibilities and dangers. He shows us how we can anchor ourselves as individuals in the eye of this storm, and how communities can create a 'topsoil of trust' to do the same for their increasingly diverse and digital populations.

Written with his trademark vitality, wit, and optimism, and with unequalled access to many of those at the forefront of the changes he is describing all over the world, Thank You for Being Late is Friedman's most ambitious book - and an essential guide to the present and the future.

©2016 Thomas L. Friedman (P)2016 Penguin Audio

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Beautiful book

Great stories and a fine journey. Did what all good books do it gets you thinking and inspired. A gem find time to listen and your world view will be changed.

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Excellent beginning and middle then downhill

some great points and examples. way too centered on the US. the author talks about diversity and justice, and then surprisingly and hypocritically goes on to describe how to make America great again at the cost of other nations and the planet.

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Feels dated

I’m only about a third through so perhaps this will improve but the anecdotes feel very dated, especially with relation to technology. And if I hear “cloud slash supernova” many more times … maybe at the time this seemed reasonable but given how widely adopted the term “cloud” has been for about a decade, it’s incredibly annoying that the author decided to use his own term

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Brilliant

As expected from the wonderful Mr Friedman. A learning experience at all levels and should be required reading (listening) for us all.

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Wow, what a brain opener!

This book is fascinating and excellent. It simply explains what has made the world into what is is today and what influences has and continues makes it so. It has changed my thinking, what a brain opener!

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Insightful read

Interesting read on today's age of change and in particular in the Digital landscape and how we should build a successful society.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Sharp!

Very enlightening. Fast, quick, sharp. Well explained and makes you realise the changes of our era. A great learning experience. Excellent!

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mind blown

it's a long listen, but incredibly rewarding. I am not an economist or particularly political. But this book has opened my eyes and as someone who works in charity I have decided I want to focus my work on international education...as a result of listening to this.

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Well written

Well written stories and collection of information from many other sources. It's a great read if you are a nascent explorer of the tech and social changes.

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Future needs: Technology, trust and social capital

Excellent commentary, memoir, and analysis from leading New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. The book is filled with insights regarding technology, communication, accelerating change, and how to keep your cool. It highlights the importance of trust, social capital, community and social cohesion. It emphasises personal relationships and engagement and brings a sensitive focus to the the current period of accelerating globalisation and change. It's down-to-earth, genuine and empathetic. Well worth a listen.

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