Thomas Friedman — recently immortalized in The Imperial Messenger — is hitting London this June to present his "manifesto for rescuing America". Intelligence² are billing him as "one of the most brilliant orators to have graced the Intelligence² stage". However he's been described elsewhere as "the silliest man on the planet" and a "dangerous fraud." 

Want to decide for yourself? You can catch him in action at the Royal Institution on 13 June. Expect him to roll out those famous Friedmanisms — such as this gem on international relations and fast food:

For all I know, I have eaten McDonald's burgers and fries in more countries that anyone, and I can testify that they all really do taste the same. But as I Quarter-Pounded my way around the world in recent years, I began to notice something intriguing. I don't know when the insight struck me. It was a bolt out of the blue that must have hit somewhere between the McDonald's in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, the McDonald's in Tahrir Square in Cairo and McDonalds off Zion Square in Jerusalem. And it was this: No two countries that both had McDonald's had fought a war against each other since each got its McDonalds.