The Google Story: For Google's 10th Birthday
Written by David A. Vise and Mark Malseed
Narrated by Stephen Hoye
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
THE GOOGLE STORY is the definitive account of the populist media company powered by the world's most advanced technology that in a few short years has revolutionized access to information about everything for everybody everywhere.
In 1998, Moscow-born Sergey Brin and Midwest-born Larry Page dropped out of graduate school at Stanford University to, in their own words, "change the world" through a search engine that would organize every bit of information on the Web for free.
While the company has done exactly that in more than one hundred languages, Google's quest continues as it seeks to add millions of library books, television broadcasts, and more to its searchable database.
Readers will learn about the amazing business acumen and computer wizardry that started the company on its astonishing course; the secret network of computers delivering lightning-fast search results; the unorthodox approach that has enabled it to challenge Microsoft's dominance and shake up Wall Street. Even as it rides high, Google wrestles with difficult choices that will enable it to continue expanding while sustaining the guiding vision of its founders' mantra: DO NO EVIL."
From the Hardcover edition.
David A. Vise
David A. Vise is the bestselling author of four books. He spent over twenty years at the Washington Post, where he won the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism for a four-part series on the Securities and Exchange Commission during Ronald Reagan’s presidency. The award-winning series became the basis for Eagle on the Street (1991), coauthored with Steve Coll. Vise’s other books include New York Times bestseller The Bureau and the Mole (2001) and national bestseller The Google Story (2005), which was published in more than two dozen languages. He currently serves as a senior advisor to New Mountain Capital, a New York–based private equity firm.
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Reviews for The Google Story
321 ratings15 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5To be honest, I read "I'm Feeling Lucky" (which is a story about working at Google told by a guy who worked in the marketing department at Google) before I wrote a review.. So that is kind of overshadowing "the Google Story". I listened to the Audio version of "the Google Story" and was interested the whole time, but not dying to continue listening every chance I got.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5It took me ages to get through this audiobook because there were large swathes of legal/corporate explanations and I'm not really interested in that. I'd heard the author talk on RNZ and was more engaged with the interview than with this book. (That often happens.)
In the book, I did very much enjoy the biographical parts about Page and Brin. It's easy to forget, in an age when lots of tech savvy people are doing amazing things with computers -- sometimes getting rich due to having the right skills at the right time in the right place -- that the Google guys are genius in the truest sense.
I'm assured that they do follow their own philosophy to not be evil, but whether their idea of 'evil' lines up with yours is another matter.
Here's an interesting thing that Larry Page and Sergey Brin have in common: Both parents in each family had scientific jobs -- not just the fathers, the mothers too. I think that is significant. Also, both attended Montessori schools. If more mothers (and fathers) were scientifically literate, and more kids had 'alternative' education with the freedom of a Montessori classroom, how many more Page and Brins would we have? - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fascinating and informative. I love Google and its products and enjoyed learning about their history and business practices. Easy to read.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Nice story. Nice to know about their journey to become the best. But the detailed story is not given, only the overview.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Google has become a household word - not just the name of a company, but a verb. Anytime my kids have a question that I can't answer, they google it. This book tells the story of how Google came to be the company that it is today. From a graduate student office at Stanford, Sergey Brin and Larry Page developed a new way of searching the Internet that provided results based on a complex algorithm. Although they took an unconventional approach to business, their company exploded. In this book, we are on the front lines, watching as Google grows. From the origin of Google Doodles to the birth of Gmail to the initial public offering, we see the tension between an innovation and growth. It's an interesting story that will make you more aware of all that goes into your Google search.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This otherwise remarkable short history of Google gets some points deducted for its hubris-laced introduction, which starts off with this opening line:"Not since Gutenberg invented the modern printing press more than 500 years ago, making books and scientific tomes affordable and widely available to the masses, has any new invention empowered individuals, and transformed access to information, as profoundly as Google."I almost put the book down right there. I love and use Google almost daily, but seriously? The company was only seven years old at the time this book was published. The arrogance of this statement taints the origin story of one of the global economy's leading companies.If you can stomach or ignore the introduction, The Google Story is a fine read.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5To be honest, I read "I'm Feeling Lucky" (which is a story about working at Google told by a guy who worked in the marketing department at Google) before I wrote a review.. So that is kind of overshadowing "the Google Story". I listened to the Audio version of "the Google Story" and was interested the whole time, but not dying to continue listening every chance I got.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An interesting, quick overview of how Google got to where it is now. Not bad, though could have been more detailed. I've heard that John Battelle's "The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture" is supposed to be better, as well as how it complements Vise's book here.Originally written on May 12, 2008 at 04:21PM
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5When we talk about the world music revolution, maybe we'll talk about the Beatles. Now, if the revolution in business marketing strategy, perhaps Google is worth being discussed.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Overly gushing about Google almost from the first page. However, the tone settles down a little bit after the first third. Very informative though and covers all the major events in the history of the company from the founding up to fairly recent events.This review is based on the unabridged audiobook version.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The audio book is quite good! Recommended.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Though access to the founders of Google seems to be lacking, the story and insight of Google's rise in the world of technology, business and culture have been very well documented. If you are fond of the stories of American Business, this one belongs on your bookshelf.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Google Story is a book what describes the history of google in great details; From the moment both founders Lary Page and Sergey Brin got the inspiration of creating a search engine till the point of no return where the company went from privately founded to public.For me the book can be divided in two parts. The first part, where Page and Brin are introduced and where is elaborated on how Google was built in a few years, and the second part where the opportunities and threats are displayed.The first part has more structure and more indepth information. The second part is mainly a brief summary of the facts, and this is exactly where the shortcomings of the book are illustrated. For me personally it would have been more interesting that both writers continued to describe to role and specific characteristics of the founders, like they did in the first part of the book. Nevertheless, this book is a great and complete source about who Brin and Page are, and how their vision and ambitions helped to create one of the most remarkable internet startups ever.The speed in which the internet and Google is developing is huge, therefore the book already missed out on the most recent information at the point the book was released. The Google Story helped me understanding the vision and ideas behind internet services and products which I use on a daily basis, and therefore a mustread for everyone interested in technology, ICT and succesfull business stories.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Very entertaining and completely non-tech book. It is an excellent "Google The Movie" script, though I was expecting a look inside "Google The Company" and what makes it tick.Sometimes difficult to put down, sometimes it was like reading Google press releases or (fan) websites. Some good stories, lot of human touch and even a few anti-google sections to add credibility.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5I was once one of Google's biggest fans, but the corporate arrogance that fairly oozes from this book makes it hard to differentiate between Microsoft and Google, except Microsoft knows what it is and Google denies it. The book is written like a long corporate PR piece and reading it had the feel of watching an infomercial.