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"Longitudes And Attitudes" by Thomas L. Friedman Length: 5 hours and 40 min. ISBN: Listen to an excerpt with:     Windows Media Player     Real Player

Longitudes and Attitudes is both a collection of Thomas Friedman’s columns from the New York Times, where he is foreign correspondent, and a re-print of parts of his diary. Friedman addresses the impact of 9/11 on the United States’ outlook on the world, how it has dealt with terrorism, and how the world views the U.S.

A short 5-CD listen and read by the author (almost always a plus in my book), I found this book in parts boring and interesting. Boring because I really didn’t find it that insightful to hear Friedman reading his old columns. For anyone paying attention to the media in the aftermath of that terrible day (and how could you not pay attention?), the columns won’t be anything new.

The second part of the book contains excerpts from his diary and this is interesting. Friedman discusses the clash of values between Islamic and Western societies, how each views the other, how each treats human rights, etc. He does so not in an abstract sense but through conversations with the people he meets, from heads of state to a passenger seated beside him on a plane trip. It brings these issues vividly to life.

The good thing about an audio book is that it’s easy to skip ahead. I’d recommend borrowing this one from the library and skipping what you don’t find interesting. There are some nuggets here too.

Tags: longitudes and attitudes, thomas friedman, news, current affairs, terrorism, globalization, audiobook, nonfiction, islamic society, western society

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