Googled: The End of the World as We Know It

Clear Examination of Google and Its Impact on Information Businesses

This book effectively combines a biography of sorts that focuses on Google as a company, and on its impact on media specifically and the world more generally. Throughout its pages, Auletta offers readers stories from inside the company, and these stories effectively illustrate the culture of Google. In addition, Mr. Auletta effectively captures the personalities of the founders and other leaders of this company, which provides valuable insight in how Google has come to be the corporate powerhouse that it is. Auletta's book is a critical look at Google's rise of power, its business practices, and its powerful ambitions. It is a must read for anyone who wants to experience a portrait of a truly "disruptive" company that is still making waves in the world of modern media.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Best book ever

Is this the best book evef?

Worst

This is the worst book ever

Boring

I didnt like it after i picked it up

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Bbest buy

I dont like the nook

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Hi

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0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A view of Google in the age of rapid media change

I have read several books about Google over the years, and this one is certainly the best written of them all. This is not surprising - Ken Auletta is a writer, journalist and media critic for The New Yorker. His writing is of an exceptionally high quality and a pleasure to read. The book is also very well researched, with first-hand accounts from many of the key players at Google and other companies that prominently feature in this story. Many of the stories about Google's early years have been written about before in other books and articles, but there are also a substantial number of new, untold accounts. In particular, we get a better idea of who were the important early investors in Google and the order in which they supported the fledgling company. Several not-so-famous high-level operatives are profiled who had a substantial influence on Google's development. However, even though these profiles are not the typical puff-pieces that have come to dominate the popular business press, they are not all that critical and candid either. From the point of view of writing an interesting story this is somewhat to be expected. The triumvirate that runs Google despite their incredible business success is composed of three very geeky individuals that don't necessarily have the most exciting personalities. On the other hand certain other highly visible members of the Google hierarchy perform rather obscure functions in the company that are hard to get too excited about from the outsider's point of view. None of the books about Google that have come out so far provide us with the intriguing stories of what is really going on inside Google - clashing personalities, conflicting projects, dazzling new ideas, development dead ends, etc. This is particularly noticeable when comparing books about Google to books about some other prominent technology companies - Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, etc. Apple in particular, even though infamous for the level of secrecy, has enjoyed a spate of recent books and articles that reveal much more about its product development and internal affairs than any one of the books about Google that are out there.

There are a couple more weaknesses of this book from the point of view of content. Google is a company that prides itself above all on its technology, and yet you will find very little in terms of technological details in this book. Even if you are not someone who is intrigued by technology, it would be important to read about some more prominent technological aspects of Google, at least in order to put Google's success in context. Most technology companies don't succeed, and this is particularly true of search engines, and it would be important to understand what are the technical advantages that Google has that keep it so well ahead of all of its competitors.

The other big problem that I had with this book is that it provides an inordinate amount of space to other companies and business developments in recent years. In particular, Auletta seems to be very fascinated with the media business and the rapid changes that have been happening to it in recent few years. For instance, the newspaper industry is going through what could be the greatest evolution in its history, and this book tries to give this change a perspective. Google and other internet companies are the key players in this transformation, and it is important to understand how newspapers and Google are influencing each other. However, Auletta doesn'

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0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

:] googledd.!!

i really enjoyed reading this book, its very helpful for an economics class. It tells allot about how the company got started and some of the obstacles it had to face while getting to be at the point where it is now, the book contains allot of good information that not many people know, when i read the first chapter i was hooked and couldn't stop reading, it's absolutely amazingly well written.! :]

Googled By Ken Auletta

Ken Auletta has written a phenomenal book about Google. From the founding to the lawsuits as publishers screamed against Google Books, Ken Auletta has told it all. This thrilling yet informative book starts out with the two co-founders, Larry and Sergey meeting at Stanford. The two immediately bonded and went on to found one of the most successful companies ever to walk the planet. Auletta goes on to tell the tale of the corporation. As is often stated in Auletta's book, "The internet makes information available. Google makes information accessible. He makes a compelling and innovative story which tells the tale of the company that revolutionized the world of search. Google.

A BOOK FOR OUR TIME

Mr. Auletta's reputation and seat at the New Yorker give him unprecedented access to his subjects. His skill as an interviewer generates answers that permit him insights missing elsewhere in the oft trod ground of the growing Google empire. The rapid development of Google and the unusual personalities and relationship between its two founders are the driving force of 3/4 of the book. In Part 4 that carries the title of the book GOOGLED, the author marshals his years of media reporting and writes with nuance as he looks into the next chapters of our increasingly Googled world. There is more than imagination at work here. There are the educated insights of a reporter challenged by his subject.
Peter M. Herford 20 Feb 2010

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