The global bestseller in paperback, expanded and updated: Thomas L. Friedman's controversially discussed assessment of the present is both a gripping report and a concise introduction to what drives the world today at its core. Global value chains and insourcing, RFID and workflow: Friedman explains the backgrounds of these buzzwords, introduces us to the people whose visions shape our future, and takes us behind the scenes of the business world, whether in Bangalore, India, where the Asian boom culminates, or in Bentonville, Arkansas, where the heart of Wal-Mart beats, the largest company on Earth. He reveals the changes that are coming for each of us - neither alarmist nor unreflectively enthusiastic. Above all: Friedman does not lecture, he tells a story.