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Title details for That Used to Be Us by Thomas L. Friedman - Available

That Used to Be Us

How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back

by Thomas L. Friedman
Jason Culp
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
2 of 2 copies available

America is in trouble. We face four major challenges on which our future depends, and we are failing to meet them—and if we delay any longer, soon it will be too late for us to pass along the American dream to future generations.
In That Used to Be Us, Thomas L. Friedman, one of our most influential columnists, and Michael Mandelbaum, one of our leading foreign policy thinkers, offer both a wake-up call and a call to collective action. They analyze the four challenges we face—globalization, the revolution in information technology, the nation's chronic deficits, and our pattern of excessive energy consumption—and spell out what we need to do now to sustain the American dream and preserve American power in the world. They explain how the end of the Cold War blinded the nation to the need to address these issues seriously, and how China's educational successes, industrial might, and technological prowess remind us of the ways in which "that used to be us." They explain how the paralysis of our political system and the erosion of key American values have made it impossible for us to carry out the policies the country urgently needs.
And yet Friedman and Mandelbaum believe that the recovery of American greatness is within reach. They show how America's history, when properly understood, offers a five-part formula for prosperity that will enable us to cope successfully with the challenges we face. They offer vivid profiles of individuals who have not lost sight of the American habits of bold thought and dramatic action. They propose a clear way out of the trap into which the country has fallen, a way that includes the rediscovery of some of our most vital traditions and the creation of a new thirdparty movement to galvanize the country.
That Used to Be Us is both a searching exploration of the American condition today and a rousing manifesto for American renewal.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    September 5, 2011

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781427213723
      • File size: 486334 KB
      • Duration: 16:53:11

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      September 5, 2011
      Reflecting on America's past greatness and its slipping position among global powers, Pulitzer-Prize winning New York Times columnist Friedman (The World is Flat) and foreign policy expert Mandelbaum (The Frugal Superpower) warn against the United States' "dangerous complacency" in the face of increasingly complex global challenges. They repeat a question first posed by Bill Gates ("What was all that good stuff we had that other people copied?") and prescribe a set of sensible government practices for prosperity: invest in public education and infrastructure, foster immigration and scientific research, and set up effective financial regulation. The rapid upheaval of the Arab Spring exemplifies the dynamism of today's intertwined world ("Flat World 2.0"), where ideas and innovationânot goods or skillsâare an individual or country's top economic commodities. American workers must approach the global marketplace with creativity in order to remain globally competitive. To that end, they also support reigning in the national debt and committing to the use of alternative energy sources. Broad ranging in its anecdotes and research, conversational (if pedantic) in its tone, and hopeful in its patriotism, they look the challenges of the 21st century squarely in the eye.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Audiobooks dealing with complex political and economic issues can sometimes be a listening challenge because of the level of detail they present. In this work narrator Jason Culp keeps listeners engaged and on track in following the arguments presented by leading thinkers Friedman and Mandelbaum. Culp's tone is both concerned and hopeful as he guides listeners through the authors' diagnosis of the problems plaguing the United States, including the education challenge, policies that have led to a burgeoning national deficit, failure to implement scientific and energy policies with regard to climate change, and increasingly divided partisan politics. Although the problems are indeed big, Friedman and Mandelbaum prescribe some tactics to get us back on track. S.E.G. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      September 26, 2011
      Friedman and Mandelbaum provide a strong and powerful assessment of the serious political, technological, and economic challenges facing the United States, insight into how the U.S. ended up mired in these predicaments, and some “radical centrist” ideas on how to resolve the nation’s current issues. Narrator Jason Culp delivers a nuanced performance in this audio production. His tone communicates the authors’ sincerity, but avoids condescension and didacticism. And Culp’s ability to emphasize key phrases and utilize pregnant pauses helps clarify the book’s many complex ideas and abstruse concepts. Additionally, both authors narrate the book’s introduction, switching back and forth in a reading that, while it pales in comparison to Culp’s performance, proves to be pleasant rather than disjointed. A Farrar, Straus and Giroux hardcover.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Funding for additional materials was made possible by a grant from the New Hampshire Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities.