This book ruined my Christmas. During the lovely meals, great conversations and card games with my loved ones there was hardly a moment when I wasn't secretly plotting my next excuse to sneak away and read a few more pages of "Hot, Flat & Crowded". That's how addictive this book is.
In his latest book Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Thomas L. Friedman addresses the most important problems the human race must tackle in the 21st century if we wish to see the 22nd. According to him our very survival is at stake and the tasks are enormous. How can we survive in a world that's getting hot (global warming and its increasingly distressing effect on the planet's climate), flat (unprecedented technological development creating greater and more equal opportunities for larger masses of people than ever in history), and crowded (uncontrollable population growth putting a greater strain on the planet's resources and on society itself)? The author's answer is simple: we can't survive if we just carry on with business as usual. I, for one, tend to agree.
The book is meticulously researched and finely detailed - some readers have argued it is actually too long - but I think this subject deserves a thorough look at all the factors involved.
