Three-time Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman will discuss A Field Guide to the 21st Century: How to Live in an Age of Acceleration at 8 p.m. Thursday, April 20, at the Arlington Theatre, hosted by UCSB Arts & Lectures.
Friedman is an authority on foreign affairs whose lauded books include The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century and From Beirut to Jerusalem.
His latest book is Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations, which Booklist calls his “latest must read.”
Looking to innovators who are finding bold solutions to the pace of change transforming our planet — from AT&T executives in Silicon Valley to U.N. experts in Syria — Friedman will offer a blueprint for how to think in our time.
He will show that if we dare to slow down in this age of acceleration, we can use our time to reimagine work, politics and community.
Friedman is renowned for his direct reporting and sophisticated analysis of complex issues facing the world. Described as “the country’s best newspaper columnist” by Vanity Fair, he has covered key stories from around the globe for The New York Times since 1981.
In awarding Friedman his third Pulitzer Prize, the Pulitzer Board cited his “clarity of vision, based on extensive reporting, in commenting on the worldwide impact of the terrorist threat.”
Friedman has been ranked second on The Wall Street Journal’s list of influential business thinkers, named to the 2011 Thinkers50 and the 2013 list of Foreign Policy’s Top Global Thinkers, and considered one of America’s Best Leaders by US News & World Report.
In Thank You For Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations, Friedman offers a guide to overcoming the stresses and challenges of a world being transformed by technology, globalization and climate change.
The World is Flat won the inaugural Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award, and Kirkus Reviews called Friedman’s best-seller The Lexus and the Olive Tree “simply the best book written on globalization.”
Friedman is a frequent guest on programs such as Meet the Press, Morning Joe and Charlie Rose. His TV documentaries, Searching for the Roots of 9/11, The Other Side of Outsourcing and Addicted to Oil have aired on the Discovery Channel.
Tickets are $25-$40 for the general public, $15 for all students with valid student ID. An Arlington facility fee will be added to each ticket price.
Pre-signed books will be available for purchase at the event.
For tickets and more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures, 893-3535, visit www.ArtsAndLectures, UCSB.edu, or contact the Arlington at 963-4408 or thearlingtontheatre.com. Event sponsors are Susan and Craig McCaw.
— Caitlin O’Hara for UCSB Arts & Lectures.