Thomas Friedman

Thomas Loren Friedman (born July 20, 1953) is an American journalist, author, and three time Pulitzer Prize winner. Friedman currently writes a weekly column for The New York Times. He has written extensively on foreign affairs, global trade, the Middle East, globalization, and environmental issues. 2Background Friedman was born on July 20, 1953 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Margaret Blanche (Phillips) and Harold Abe Friedman. Harold, who was Vice President of a ball bearing company, United Bearing, died of a heart attack in 1973, when Tom was nineteen years old. Margaret, who served in the United States Navy during World War II and studied Home Economics at the University of Wisconsin, was a homemaker and a part-time bookkeeper. Margaret was also a Senior Life Master duplicate bridge player, and died in 2008. Friedman has two older sisters, Shelly and Jane. From an early age, Friedman, whose father often took him to the golf course for a round after work, wanted to be a professional golfer. He played a lot of sports, and became serious about tennis and gol