UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Thomas L. Friedman

UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Thomas L. Friedman delivering a lecture titled A Field Guide to the 21st Century: How to Live in an Age of Acceleration on Thurs., April 20, at 8:00 p.m. at the Arlington Theatre. Pre-signed books will be available for purchase at the event.

A three-time Pulitzer Prize recipient, New York Times columnist and an authority on foreign affairs, Thomas L. Friedman’s lauded books include The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century and From Beirut to Jerusalem. His “latest must-read” (Booklist) is Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations. 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 provide an essential blueprint for how to think in our time. With vision, clarity and wit, Friedman 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.

Thomas L. 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 the monumental 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.” He 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 his new book, 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 Christian Science Monitor advised of his previous book – That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back, co-written with Michael Mandelbaum – “Anyone who cares about America’s future ought to read this book and hear the authors’ compelling case.” Friedman’s The World is Flat won the inaugural Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award. In 2012, he updated his National Book Award-winning book From Beirut to Jerusalem, adding a fresh discussion of the Arab Awakenings and Arab/Israeli relations in a new preface and afterword. His other bestsellers include Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution — and How It Can Renew America, Longitudes and Attitudes: The World in the Age of Terrorism and The Lexus and the Olive Tree, which Kirkus Reviews called “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. He is featured in Showtime’s climate change documentary series Years of Living Dangerously, executive produced by James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Thomas L. Friedman is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures.

Tickets are $25-$40 for the general public and $15 for all students (valid student ID required). (An Arlington facility fee will be added to each ticket price)

For tickets and more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535 or visit www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu, or contact the Arlington Theatre at (805) 963-4408 or thearlingtontheatre.com.

Event Sponsors: Susan & Craig McCaw.

UCSB Arts & Lectures gratefully acknowledges the generous support of SAGE for its major corporate support of the 2016-17 season.