When I give talks concerning the history of humanism, I cite the significance of the creation of the internet with Gutenberg's invention of the printing press; both were gigantic leaps in information technology and the human ability to communicate. In his current best selling book, The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman explains how events of 11/9/89 and 9/11/01 influenced the changing concept of a global world to a flat world. Tearing down the Berlin Wall and the World Trade Center destruction contributed to an explosion of world commerce that flattened the world and sped up the distribution of information and of wealth to millions of people.

Friedman says, "People don't change when you tell them they should. They change when they tell themselves they must." To gain a better understanding of how and why we must change our world concept from global to flat, this book should have a top priority on your reading list.

--Flo Wineriter