The Post American World, by Fareed Zakaria and The World is Flat, by Thomas Friedman

As Americans we have to start to comprehend that the world around us is changing technologically, politically, and economically. In “The Last Superpower” an excerpt from the book The Post American World by Fareed Zakaria published in 2008. Zakaria emphasizes on these changes. Thomas Friedman the author of “The World is Flat” a piece from the book The World is Flat: A brief history of the twenty-first century published in 2005 also emphasizes on the same changes currently happening in the world. Zakaria and Friedman define these changes as globalization. The obvious common ground shared by both authors is their representation of globalization and the effects that it has and will continue to have on modern life. In contrast to sharing the same main topic both authors take a drastically different approach on how the relay their information to the audience. The differences displayed are mainly due to their personal and educational backgrounds, definitions of globalization as well as the individual writing styles of each author.

First of all, looking into the background of Fareed Zakaria you will discover that he is an Indian born American journalist and author as well as a host for CNN. Zakaria is also a graduate of Yale and has received a PhD in political science from Harvard. On the other hand, we have Thomas Friedman an American author and columnist for New York Times. Friedman is a three time winner of the prestigious Pulitzer Prize. One may assume that because Zakaria has his PhD that his credentials may make him more reliable. For some that may be enough to give him the upper hand over Friedman right from the start. Friedman does not hold a PhD or include statistics in his excerpt but does provide his audience with informatio...

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...of his writing is analytical. For example, Zakaria uses statistics to explain the steadiness of the United States share of the globally economy throughout wars, depressions, and power risings by stating “With 5 percent of the world’s population, the United States has generated between 20 and 30 percent of world’s output for 125 years.” This statistic means that throughout hard times of the past, America has still maintained its share of global economic importance. This example shows his form of writing along with the evidence that Zakaria uses to back up his claims. Friedman’s form of writing is completely opposite. He comes across in more of a personal level and seems to be able to paint a visual picture from what he is writing. Friedman’s first person point of view makes his excerpt easier to comprehend because he tells his experiences and thoughts like a story.