That Used to Be Us : How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back
Author(s): Thomas L. Friedman, Michael Mandelbaum
A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice
A Los Angeles Times Best Book of 2011
In That Used to Be Us, Thomas L. Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum analyze the four major challenges we face as a country---globalization, the revolution in information technology, chronic deficits, and our pattern of energy consumption---and spell out what we need to do now to preserve American power in the world. The end of the Cold War blinded the nation to the need to address these issues seriously, and China's educational successes, industrial might, and technological prowess in many ways remind us of a time when "that used to be us." But Friedman and Mandelbaum show how America's history, when properly understood, offers a five-part formula for prosperity that will enable us to cope successfully with the challenges we face. That Used to Be Us is both a searching exploration of the American condition today and a rousing manifesto for American renewal.
Review(s):
“At once enlightened and enlightening...[American society] could use more of the generous responsible spirit Friedman and Mandelbaum recommend.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Thoroughly researched and passionately argued...That Used to Be Us is an important contribution to an intensifying debate, and it deserves the widest possible attention....Compelling.” —The New York Times
“Anyone who cares about America's future---anyone planning to vote in 2012---ought to read this book and hear the authors' compelling case.” —The Christian Science Monitor
“An important and eminently readable book.” —The New York Review of Books
“Touches a nerve...In a country whose politicians are partisan intransigents and whose commentators are more interested in zingers than solutions, it takes courage to be so baldly civic-minded.” —BusinessWeek
Pulitzer Prize - Winner (1988), Pulitzer Prize - Winner (1983), Pulitzer Prize - Winner (2002), National Book Awards - Winner (1989)
ISBN: 9781250013729