Reviews from Amazon

The Google story

No one with an internet connection can have missed the spectacular rise of the Google search engine in the last few years. This book tells the story of this rise - how the founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin came to top the list of young billionaires without it seems having a particular interest in making money. Thus we hear about how Google has challenged the established way of doing things in business, and the legal problems which they have faced as a result. The book is well written -no technical knowledge required - and is recommended for anyone who want to catch up with what has been happening in the computing world.

One thing that I hadn't realised was that Google make their own computers. It is recognised that the best way to get the most computing power for the least amount of money is to connect together a large number of cheaply built PC's. However this has its own problems and most organisations would go for fewer, larger computers. Google, whose business depends crucially on computing power, has faced and dealt with these problems. Maybe the idea of Google marketing 'Google PC's' isn't that unlikely. I would have prefered if this book had looked more at such ideas - what Google is likely to do in the future. It doesn't deal with the day to day running of the company (which wouldn't have been so interesting), but that means that 'Google watchers' will already know much of what it has to tell. I would have liked a bit more speculation.

Amazon.com info

Hardcover 250 pages
ISBN: 1405053712
Salesrank: 4120570
Weight:1.01 lbs

Published: 2005 Macmillan Publishers Ltd

Marketplace::Used from $0.12

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Amazon.co.uk info

Hardcover 250 pages
ISBN: 1405053712
Salesrank: 222007
Weight:1.01 lbs

Published: 2005 Macmillan

Marketplace:New from £2.94:Used from £0.74

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Amazon.ca info

Hardcover 250 pages
ISBN: 1405053712
Salesrank:
Weight:1.01 lbs

Published: 2005 Macmillan

Marketplace:New from CDN$ 36.86:Used from CDN$ 1.71

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An average book about a great business story ***
Quite detailed story and insight on the google way and its unique approach to business and internet. That makes the 3/5 note, but the writer style is quite heavy, the book could have been much more compact, maybe because it targets a wide audience and not only geeks. The author is also quite "Google-biased", not much criticism inside the book, but reading it through, you feel like some critical view is missing, maybe because it has been reviewed by Google... But despite this, i recommend the book for anybody willing to know a bit more about Google and getting some insider stories.

An average book about a great business story ***

Quite detailed story and insight on the google way and its unique approach to business and internet. That makes the 3/5 note, but the writer style is quite heavy, the book could have been much more compact, maybe because it targets a wide audience and not only geeks.
The author is also quite "Google-biased", not much criticism inside the book, but reading it through, you feel like some critical view is missing, maybe because it has been reviewed by Google... But despite this, i recommend the book for anybody willing to know a bit more about Google and getting some insider stories.

Truly awful *
I'll start by saying: this is the first book I've ever thrown out. This is truly the worst book I've ever read. What could be an interesting story is just gushing fanboy nonsense. It really does seem to have been researched by cutting and pasting Google press releases. I wish I could quote some of the gushing text, but I threw it out in disgust.

Truly awful *

I'll start by saying: this is the first book I've ever thrown out. This is truly the worst book I've ever read. What could be an interesting story is just gushing fanboy nonsense.

It really does seem to have been researched by cutting and pasting Google press releases. I wish I could quote some of the gushing text, but I threw it out in disgust.

Great and informative *****
This is a great and informative book that was fun to read. Its good because everything that they talk about is interesting and fun. It a great book if you want to learn about google, or just the early days of the internet. Interesting and fun.

Great and informative *****

This is a great and informative book that was fun to read. Its good because everything that they talk about is interesting and fun. It a great book if you want to learn about google, or just the early days of the internet. Interesting and fun.

Pravda-esque account **
I only made it to about page forty of this book - so apologies if it improved a lot after that point - but I couldn't read much further. This book was almost completely uncritical of Google and its founders. OK, so Google's impressive (why I bought the book in the first place), but it doesn't deserve the somewhat Pravda-esque treatment given here. The founders are undoubtedly interesting and successful people, but not as pure and perfect as this book suggests. This book is OK if you want to read about a fantastic success story; but look elsewhere if you want a fully rounded picture of this internet giant.

Pravda-esque account **

I only made it to about page forty of this book - so apologies if it improved a lot after that point - but I couldn't read much further. This book was almost completely uncritical of Google and its founders. OK, so Google's impressive (why I bought the book in the first place), but it doesn't deserve the somewhat Pravda-esque treatment given here. The founders are undoubtedly interesting and successful people, but not as pure and perfect as this book suggests. This book is OK if you want to read about a fantastic success story; but look elsewhere if you want a fully rounded picture of this internet giant.

Interesting Look into an Important and Different Tech Company ****
Obviously this book does not cover the entire story of Google in depth, but it does provide a look into the company from the time the founders were students in graduate school until the time when the book was published. Covered are such material as how the company got it's financing, how the founders insisted in staying true to their dream, how the company operates and how it is challenging the big M for dominance in the world of technology companies. I completely enjoyed the book. It contained enough information to make the read interesting while keeping the technical jargon and in depth computer material to the minimum necessary for the story. This would be a good book for a high school or college library and makes an interesting study of how a company can be different and still very successful.

Interesting Look into an Important and Different Tech Company ****

Obviously this book does not cover the entire story of Google in depth, but it does provide a look into the company from the time the founders were students in graduate school until the time when the book was published.

Covered are such material as how the company got it's financing, how the founders insisted in staying true to their dream, how the company operates and how it is challenging the big M for dominance in the world of technology companies.

I completely enjoyed the book. It contained enough information to make the read interesting while keeping the technical jargon and in depth computer material to the minimum necessary for the story. This would be a good book for a high school or college library and makes an interesting study of how a company can be different and still very successful.

Good description of Google's rise ****
I picked this up when it was going cheap in Zavvi's sale. It's a good account of the rise of Google: how they recognized search as the most crucial component of the web and made their money by adding targeted advertising to their search results. I was somewhat disappointed at the paucity of technical detail beyond some journalistic hand-waving about a "seamless blend of hardware and software at ... a massive scale", and the fact that Google's servers are assembled from commodity PCs. This, it's somewhat breathlessly announced on page 2, is "perhaps Google's best-kept secret", which sounds rather self-contradictory. However, given the general audience that the book is written for (and the many details of their architecture that really are secret - even down to the number of servers they employ), perhaps this isn't too surprising - though I'm pretty sure that even a general reader wouldn't need to be told (p35) who Midas was. There's also some degree of repetition across the chapters, which makes them read more like self-contained magazine articles instead of pieces of a coherent whole. But in general, I found this an entertaining read, and an interesting story about how Google has changed the world over the past couple of decades. On a personal note, I was also surprised to discover from this book that one of my (vanishingly tenuously linked) associates from the field of computer graphics in the early 90's had shared an office with Google's founders at Stanford. It's a small, joined-up world.

Good description of Google's rise ****

I picked this up when it was going cheap in Zavvi's sale. It's a good account of the rise of Google: how they recognized search as the most crucial component of the web and made their money by adding targeted advertising to their search results. I was somewhat disappointed at the paucity of technical detail beyond some journalistic hand-waving about a "seamless blend of hardware and software at ... a massive scale", and the fact that Google's servers are assembled from commodity PCs. This, it's somewhat breathlessly announced on page 2, is "perhaps Google's best-kept secret", which sounds rather self-contradictory. However, given the general audience that the book is written for (and the many details of their architecture that really *are* secret - even down to the number of servers they employ), perhaps this isn't too surprising - though I'm pretty sure that even a general reader wouldn't need to be told (p35) who Midas was.

There's also some degree of repetition across the chapters, which makes them read more like self-contained magazine articles instead of pieces of a coherent whole. But in general, I found this an entertaining read, and an interesting story about how Google has changed the world over the past couple of decades. On a personal note, I was also surprised to discover from this book that one of my (vanishingly tenuously linked) associates from the field of computer graphics in the early 90's had shared an office with Google's founders at Stanford. It's a small, joined-up world.

"We gotta zig cos they think we're gonna zag" ****
This book is written as a testament to Google and all they've achieved in the last decade. As someone of a slightly cynical nature I found myself viewing a lot of this book with a fair amount of scepticism. Are Google really this good? Did they really have such a clear vision from the start? Do they never do evil? However, in the end I found this book incredibly enlightening and inspiring. The Google vision is a strong one that stands against conventional thinking and drives the company to produce a quality product and a creative culture. This shines through in both the book and also the products they create. I came to realise not just that I use many of their products on a daily basis but also understand why I find them so appealing and useful. The book is well written, very comprehensive and very informative on the different aspects and characters of Google. I have learned many things while reading this book and it has challenged me in a number of ways to improve what I do. It has also left me galvanised in my belief that free thinkers can achieve massive success when they don't give in to the pressure to conform.

"We gotta zig cos they think we're gonna zag" ****

This book is written as a testament to Google and all they've achieved in the last decade. As someone of a slightly cynical nature I found myself viewing a lot of this book with a fair amount of scepticism. Are Google really this good? Did they really have such a clear vision from the start? Do they never do evil? However, in the end I found this book incredibly enlightening and inspiring.

The Google vision is a strong one that stands against conventional thinking and drives the company to produce a quality product and a creative culture. This shines through in both the book and also the products they create. I came to realise not just that I use many of their products on a daily basis but also understand why I find them so appealing and useful.

The book is well written, very comprehensive and very informative on the different aspects and characters of Google. I have learned many things while reading this book and it has challenged me in a number of ways to improve what I do. It has also left me galvanised in my belief that free thinkers can achieve massive success when they don't give in to the pressure to conform.

An inspiring read *****
This is an inspiring read about two young Stanford Institute of Technology students who took on the world - and won. Through a stunning power of belief, they decided one day to download the whole Internet and to use thousands of computers to store the data and so build the quickest and most reliable search engine of its time. Sounds simple, doesn't it? One of the chapters is called "A Healthy Disregard for the Impossible" and that just about sums up the attitude and philosophy of the google founders. This book (both descriptive and analytical) should be read by those at corporate level and also those who are thinking of lighting the creative entrepreneurial spark that awaits inside them. In fact, I would go as far as to say that this is actually bordering on being a self-help book, such is its power to motivate.

An inspiring read *****

This is an inspiring read about two young Stanford Institute of Technology students who took on the world - and won. Through a stunning power of belief, they decided one day to download the whole Internet and to use thousands of computers to store the data and so build the quickest and most reliable search engine of its time. Sounds simple, doesn't it?

One of the chapters is called "A Healthy Disregard for the Impossible" and that just about sums up the attitude and philosophy of the google founders.

This book (both descriptive and analytical) should be read by those at corporate level and also those who are thinking of lighting the creative entrepreneurial spark that awaits inside them.

In fact, I would go as far as to say that this is actually bordering on being a self-help book, such is its power to motivate.

Boring, Boring, Boring! *
Sure this book gives you the facts where the author knows them but with Larry and Sergey well known for not often giving interviews or much away there really isnt much you couldnt find with a bit of good web research. The biggest disappointment is that book is written in such a boring and uninvolving way with zero entertainment value. Has to be one of the worst books I have ever read!

Boring, Boring, Boring! *

Sure this book gives you the facts where the author knows them but with Larry and Sergey well known for not often giving interviews or much away there really isnt much you couldnt find with a bit of good web research. The biggest disappointment is that book is written in such a boring and uninvolving way with zero entertainment value. Has to be one of the worst books I have ever read!

A disregard for the impossible *****
Google is the story of the creation of the best internet online search engine with the most powerful software, flashing speed and mountain high storage capacity. Many analyst doubted for a long time that the company could generate serious revenues, but its business model (advertising directly linked to each individual search) proved to be a heap of goldmines. The end is not in sight as the company even entered the genetics field. With its enormous storage capacity and its massive computing power for analyzing vast quantities of data, scientists should be able to search and find specific genes and genetic abnormalities that are causing diseases. The author also comments on the creation of Gmail, privacy issues and the battles with software rivals (e. g., for the hiring of software engineers). With and inside the internet space, Google together with Amazon changed the world we live in. A must read.

A disregard for the impossible *****

Google is the story of the creation of the best internet online search engine with the most powerful software, flashing speed and mountain high storage capacity.
Many analyst doubted for a long time that the company could generate serious revenues, but its business model (advertising directly linked to each individual search) proved to be a heap of goldmines.
The end is not in sight as the company even entered the genetics field. With its enormous storage capacity and its massive computing power for analyzing vast quantities of data, scientists should be able to search and find specific genes and genetic abnormalities that are causing diseases.

The author also comments on the creation of Gmail, privacy issues and the battles with software rivals (e. g., for the hiring of software engineers).
With and inside the internet space, Google together with Amazon changed the world we live in.
A must read.

David Vise

The Google story