In 2002, Thomas L. Friedman won his third Pulitzer Prize "for his clarity of vision, based on extensive reporting, in commenting on the worldwide impact of the terrorist threat" after the attacks of September 11, 2001. This virtually unprecedented recognition underlines Friedman's unique ability to interpret and illuminate the world for American readers clearly, insightfully, and memorably.
Longitudes & Attitudes is made up of Friedman's New York Times columns, as well as a diary of his private experiences and reflections as he travels to Europe, the Mideast, and the Far East. He talks with the major players in the story and men and women in the street as he develops and refines his unique perspective on the new kind of war America finds itself fighting. And he helps us to understand who "they" are, and reassures us about who "we" are.
In the author's words, the result is "a 'word album' that captures and preserves the raw, unpolished emotional and analytical responses that illustrate how I, and others, felt as we tried to grapple with September 11 and its aftermath as it continues to unfold." More than any other journalist writing today, Friedman gives voice to America's awakening sense of a radically new world and our own complex place in it.