| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
jajdude
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
|
 Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 5:21 am Post subject: Thomas L. Friedman |
 |
|
| Guy who writes for the NY Times. Any opinion? I bought a book by him today. I always figured he was fairly on the ball. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
|
| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 5:28 am Post subject: |
|
|
I always enjoy reading Friedman. He has his own ideas and makes me think sometimes. Not a bad thing.
He's won a couple of Pulitzers, so someone else thinks he's worthwhile.
Which book did you buy? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Joo Rip Gwa Rhhee
Joined: 25 May 2003
|
| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 5:31 am Post subject: |
|
|
| He is one of the best out there. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
JacktheCat
Joined: 08 May 2004
|
| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 5:41 am Post subject: |
|
|
Yes, he is one of the best journalists out there.
He's also got an ego to match.
I'd recommend The Lexis and the Olive Tree, a great synopsis on globalisation. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
|
| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 6:02 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
He's also got an ego to match.
|
Why do you say that? I got just the opposite impression of him from his appearances on Washington Week In Review. He seemed to be very bright, with a good sense of humor. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
JacktheCat
Joined: 08 May 2004
|
| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 6:12 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
| Quote: |
He's also got an ego to match.
|
Why do you say that? I got just the opposite impression of him from his appearances on Washington Week In Review. He seemed to be very bright, with a good sense of humor.
|
I've actually met him a few times as he is a friend of a friend of my father's.
A very smart and knowledgable guy with a wicked sense of humour, but a pompous, know-it-all ass none the less. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
The Bobster
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
|
| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 6:41 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
| I always enjoy reading Friedman. He has his own ideas and makes me think sometimes. Not a bad thing. |
He's also recently come out and espoused the elimination of Gitmo.
NY Times : "Just Shut It Down."
| Quote: |
| ABSTRACT - Thomas L Friedman Op-Ed column says Guantanamo Bay prison should be shut down immediately; says he is convinced that more Americans will die if it is kept open than if it is plowed under; says it has become worse than an embarrassment for United States (...) |
That starts to make him okay in my book ... most of his reasoning, though, applies as well to the entire adventure in Iraq. I'll be most impressed when he writes a column asking to shut THAT down. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
jajdude
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
|
| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 8:05 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Lexus and the Olive Tree |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bulsajo
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
|
| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 9:54 am Post subject: |
|
|
| He's got a new one out- The World is Flat- which is receiving mixed reviews. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
|
| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 12:59 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Yeah, the economist bashed it as did a couple other publications. Going by their descriptions, there isn't anything earth shattering in his latest book. I think I'll pass.
| Quote: |
| A very smart and knowledgable guy with a wicked sense of humour, but a pompous, know-it-all ass none the less. |
Yeah, he sounds more and more like that in his columns. He also came across that way when i saw him being interviewed on Charlie Rose. It was a bit of a downer. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Number22
Joined: 16 May 2005
|
| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 7:11 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Probably the best book you can read on the Middle East is Friedman's "From Beirut to Jeruseleum" (sp?) It's a little dated right now but it's a great starter for anyone looking to understand the politics and on-the-ground happenings in a number of key Middle East countries. I believe more recent editions have had a new section added to comment on more current goings-on. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
|
| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 9:12 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Yeah, that is his best book. I read it 10 years ago, and even then it was a little dated. Still a good read though. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Kuros
Joined: 27 Apr 2004
|
| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 11:34 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| He's always come off as strongly optimistic. But he's pretty good for a political commentator. Some of the people out there being paid to write their opinions amaze me. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Nowhere Man
Joined: 08 Feb 2004
|
| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2005 6:10 am Post subject: ... |
|
|
He's in my sigline:
http://www.moveon.org/censure/caughtonvideo
That said, his mustache is only half as intimidating as Tim Sebastion's.
That that said, unlike Tim Sebastion, he does editorialize, meaning he provides commentary based on his opinion, and far from purely objective.
I'm happy that he's now condemning Guantanamo, but I'm not creaming my jeans just because he chose to do it three years after the fact. That doesn't make him my hero.
That makes him a very middle-of-the-road political commentator.
He does sit astride the split in America, but I'm not so sure that this fact impresses me.
Pulitzer schmulitzer. The reasons he's NOW giving for shutting down Gitmo applied at Gitmo's beginning.
That's catch-up he's playing. But maybe it does fit for the larger American populace.
Perhaps true, but not necessarily something to be proud of. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
jajdude
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
|
| Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 12:35 am Post subject: |
|
|
| I usually look at the article first and not pay much attention to the writer. I think that guy Kristoff writes some interesting ones though. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
