Not technical enough for hardcore programmers and probably not as business-oriented as some would like, either, but if you want a book with a bit of both, it's perfect. ( )

Fun to read, with interesting ideas about "search" as a business model, and a compare-and-contrast between Google and Yahoo. The book presents Google as a technology company, where the algorithm is king and commerce is dirty, and Yahoo as a media company, with an emphasis on the benefits of a human touch and the acknowledgement that a lot of people are searching for something _because_ they want to make a purchase.

John Battelle is the co-founding editor of Wired, so he brings a good sense of business and of technology with a readable voice. (And none of the snark that makes Wired so tiresome lately.) I really had trouble putting the book down; neat stuff. ( )

The history of how Google came to be what it is, through part of 2005. This is the best book on what "search" means. This book teaches more about search in this Internet, digital library era than any university coures. ( )

Very interesting book about the ramifications of Google and searchability. My copy is heavily marked up, so this is strongly suggested. Good material on Web 2.0, privacy, searchability, reputation, trust, and a bit on mashup (without explicitly using that word). Story of founders, what if search falls into wrong hands, concept of "Database of Intentions", discussion of time. ( )

I think that Google has a 'halo' around them. Everything that they've been doing lately (gmail, maps, their aggregator, their start page) are all really cool.

Every time I read about folks looking to digitize the real-world to reduce inefficiencies it makes me want to live in the world of the future to see how much better life is.

Once RFID is deployed on everything (and if it's standardized), Google will have even more importance because you could be searching for personal things via Google.

That'll be a weird day when that happens. ( )