Longitudes and Attitudes: Exploring the World After September 11

This latest by Tom Friedman offers a more in-depth alternative to the electronic (T.V.) and mainstream print (newspaper) media. He compiled 2 years of his columns in chronological order. He also includes his diary revealing his insights and perceptions into the aftermath of the attacks in 2001. With "Longitudes and Attitudes," we can go over information he presents, investigate into these topics further, agree or refute with certain perspectives of his, then come to our own individualistic conclusions. He included some very significant interviews from many influential people in the Middle East, in addition to traveling, note-taking, cultural observations, and discussions with every-day people. The opportunity to analyze information and engage in our own thought process is possible with this book and this is what's lacking from the mainstream press (which Friedman is apart of, being a columnist for the "New York Times.") Although a few perceive liberal bias from him, I perceive balance, albeit with some journalistic and personal eccentricity, which we all have within us. When it comes to September 2001, and the Iraq situation 2002-3, the mainstream media have bombarded the American public with intellectually shallow sound-bites, histrionics, haute couture Iraq topics, irrelevant speculation, charades of patriotism, the perpetuation of myths, incorrect public statements, false reports, ivory tower "experts," and retired military pundits who co-habitate with a T.V. clicker and speculate on the many talk shows, "yelling programs," and "spin shows," ranging from left, middle, to right. With "Longitudes and attitudes" you can, on this rare occasion, think, rationalize, and decide for yourself Friedman is a thinker and by reading this, an American can be provoked to think for themselves, instead of having the spin doctors from far left to right do that for them. Friedman's classic book "From Beirut to Jerusalem" is worth taking a look at. It's relevant today.

This is a thought provoking, yet disturbing, work: concerning itself with the cause, effect and future implications surrounding 9/11. Thomas Friedman is the foreign affairs columnist for The New York Times and this book, Longitudes and Attitudes, is a compilation of his works written for this paper between Dec./00 and July /02.The subject matter is broken down into two time periods, before 9/11 and after. Also included is a diary he kept during his travels to Europe and the Middle East, also between Dec./00 and July 02. The columns themselves, can be divided into three general categories 1.) The Palestine/ Israel conflict 2.) Arab/Muslim concerns, especially with regards to government and education, and 3.) American foreign affairs policies (management and mismanagement). Whether you agree or not with Mr. Friedman's thoughts is a personal matter, but the issues he raises are certainly not only thought provoking (because they have such far reaching, world wide implications) but yet, at the same time, disturbing, because the problems seem to be increasing exponentially (instead of receding) and any attempt at a solution seems to be light years away. I don't think I've read anyone who has been able to describe and dissect the events that lead up to and have occurred since 9/11 as well as Mr. Friedman. The author also puts forward some of his own ideas as to some potential solutions (or a least places to start) for some of these most troubling of issues. The only quibble I would have with regards to this book is that some of the material is repetitious. This is not so apparent if you read his column in the newspaper on a twice-weekly basis but becomes more obvious when you read a collection of these vignettes in a sitting. Finally, I must compliment Mr. Friedman's abilities as a writer: I was concerned when I considered purchasing this book, knowing it was basically a collection of his columns, that the articles would be hindered by the "pressure of deadline" and the "pressure of length". Writing columns twice a week must be a tremendous burden; to do this week after week must be extremely difficult on those occasions when you are fatigued, come up "dry" or have an episode of writer's block. Similarly writing a column 740 words long must also be hard: sometimes having to condense a long article and other times adding "fill" to make up the required length. However, I had little reason for concern, as most compositions seem to flow naturally and fit perfectly into an easy reading cadence that seemed of appropriate length. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the events surrounding 9/11, Middle East politics or U.S. foreign affair in this area of the world.

I hadn't read any of Mr. Friedmans columns as they came out, after reading this I will be sure to make it a habit. This collection is something you may want as a keepsake for this era. This is not just 911, this is momentous world events and directional changes world wide for and in part concerning this new world we live in due to the September events. When these commentaries are assembled here in book form, you can clearly see a new direction we are headed by world actions, thus the title is born, Longitudes and Attitudes. This can be frightening to some, real world sentiment is explored. Our direction has been permanately changed, I am convinced of that after reading the book, but was not beforehand, I was one to think, "This will vanish". Very informative and causes real awareness. I wish to recommend a book that carries on from here and did predict the terrorism to include real world attitude, SB: 1 or God by Karl Mark Maddox

This is a collection of the Pulitzer Prize winning columns that Friedman wrote for the New York Times reflecting both on the factors that went into the events of September 11 and the world that it created. Like all of his work, these essays are marked by phenomenal insight and enormous intelligence. Most of these are available on Friedman's own website, but they are definitely worth owning in a bound volume. Over the years, I have found myself going back to his FROM BEIRUT TO JERUSALEM over and over to understand the situation in the Middle East, and many will find the same kind of insight and understanding in this volume.The way that the essays in this book differ from his other work in FROM BEIRUT TO JERUSALEM and THE LEXUS AND THE OLIVE TREE is the intensely personal tone of many of the essays. Friedman often writes not from an objective point of view, but of how he is feeling, what he is thinking as he reflects on the fallen Towers, and of his own very specific reactions. In this way, these essays contain strong elements of memoir. A hundred years from now, they will be read as one very intelligent and perceptive journalist's reactions to one of the most traumatic disasters in American history. They are valuable as much for emotional reflections as for his objective analyses. The genius of these essays derives from the fact that he in no way attempts to minimize the tragedy and horror of 9/11, while in no way ignoring his own grief and perplexity or, and this is the tough part, losing his remarkable perspective as a journalist or resorting to trite generalizations to explain and analyze the greater global situation. For fans of Friedman's columns and previous books, this will be an immensely satisfying book. For those unfamiliar with his other work, they will find here a work of great insight and emotional honesty on perhaps the great horror in American history since Vietnam and perhaps Pearl Harbor. I recommend this book in the strongest possible terms.

This is a superb collection of Tom Friedman's New York Times columns, plus personal commentaries on the circumstances behind those columns since 9/11. What an extraordinarily insightful book. I couldn't put it down, even though I'd read virtually all of Friedman's columns when they first appeared in The Times. His prose is wonderfully lucid and colloquial; it helps us understand the increasingly bewildering world around us--and within us. Friedman shares his interesting and intriguing experiences with his readers, and we are all wiser and humbler for it. Read Tom Friedman, then read him all over again!