Jasmine Z

Do not read this book. This is the worst "short" introduction book of all times. layout of the book is good. It does a good job of breaking down the term globalization, the different social forms of globalization, the different aspects of globalization, and explaining the history and viewpoints and possible issues in the future, in each aspect. But holy sh** this author writes a lot without saying much at all. Every second sentence he's laying out the creation, multiplication, expansion, intensification, acceleration of social exchanges, networks, activities, and connections. I understood it after he took the entire first chapter to explain that's what globalization is. You don't need to repeat it everywhere. Here is an excerpt from the book, for those interested. This paragraph came AFTER 4 whole pages dedicated to explaining that there are different viewpoints. Seriously, this book could have been made 3x shorter by cutting out this type of redundant text. ** No doubt, each of these contending perspectives contains important insights. As we will see in this book, the advocates of the first approach have marshalled impressive evidence for their view that the dramatic expansion and acceleration of global exchanges since the 1980s represents a big leap in the history of globalization. The proponents of the second view correctly emphasize the tight connection between contemporary forms of globalization and the explosion of technology known as the Industrial Revolution. The representatives of the third perspective rightly point to the significance of the time–space compression that occurred in the 16th century when Eurasia, Africa, and the Americas first became connected by enduring trade routes. Finally, the advocates of the fourth approach advance a rather sensible argument when they insist that any truly comprehensive account of globalization falls short without the incorporation of ancient developments and long-term dynamics into our planetary history.