Review of "The Google Story"

(Written in February 2006). See the ratings of other books and more reviews here.

This is going to be a very short review. I was reading "The Search" by John Battelle and reserved a copy of the "The Google Story" at the library. After reading it, I am thinking, why did I bother? Battelle's book is a much better one in all respects as it takes the author through the history of search engines and compared Google with other search ideas and implementations.

"The Google Story", however, is a cheerleading exercise for Google Inc. The authors have put the two founders on a pedestal and worship everything that they did. There is no critical analysis of the decisions of Google during its brief history. And if someone just wanted to understand the events during this time, one could just Google for it. :-).

In terms of portraying inspirational figures, it may be useful. The story of Sergey and Brin is remarkable and the extent of success they achieved within a few short years is mind-blowing. The Google movement was totally driven by end user satisfaction. But the excessive praise by the authors provides no real insight into the Internet situation and the milestones of the company.