Welcome to the Release 2.0 paperback edition of Hot, Flat, and Crowded. I have always viewed my books the way computer programmers view software—as works in progress that should be updated whenever possible. Technology today makes that easier than ever to do, and so, as with my previous books, I have taken advantage of that opportunity here.
I want to thank the readers who took the time to share their thoughtful ideas and feedback on my Web site during the past year. The quality and scope of the comments enriched my understanding of the subject and helped me to think about how to push my arguments forward. My original plan to make readers’ comments part of a new chapter 18, however, was overtaken by events—particularly the global financial crisis that emerged in full bloom just three weeks after this book was originally published in September 2008. I have substantially rewritten the first three chapters for this new edition to show how the crisis in the financial marketplace and the crisis in our natural world are actually rooted in the same kind of flawed accounting and thinking about risk. Elsewhere, I have used the past year to sharpen certain arguments, update facts, and, I hope, make an even more compelling case that the forces making our world hot, flat, and crowded pose the greatest challenge for our generation— and that rising to that challenge could actually be our greatest economic opportunity. We cannot afford to miss either one.
Thomas L. Friedman
Bethesda, Maryland
September 2009