THANK YOU FOR BEING LATE by Thomas L.Friedman (Picador, 2016)
The title of one of the chapters in this hefty tome is called ‘Just Too Damned Fast’ which sums up how most people feel about the rapidity of change in the modern age.
The title of the book as a whole refers to a comment the author made to those who turned up late for an appointment. Instead of being frustrated over the lack of puntuality, he uses the time to think, reflect and take stock of things.
Thomas L. Friedman is a seasoned, Pulitizer-prize winning New York Times columnist who promises that this book will help us to thrive in the face the challenges that lie ahead. He calls it an ‘optimist’s guide’ but parts of it only confirmed my pessimism.
Whatever its flaws, he certainly can’t be accused of tackling this mighty topic in a superficial manner. Those with attention deficit disorder will balk at the idea of wading through 600 pages that make up the 2.0 version of the book which, for good measure, comes with a new afterword written after Trump’s election. Continue reading
