Rating: 
Summary: Google Hacks - Sure Reveals!
Review: A chance glance read,'Google Hacks' at a local Bookstore, this one's not the cup of tea for a casual surfer. If one is an HTML expert and excel in scripting language, here's a pick and a cool read. It helps trying new ways to innovate, charges a hacker for productive and constructive use of web enhanced applications. I have a Google Developer Key for 'sambhaav' but never really knew how to use it and this book has tremendous info on the API application. Web Developers would benefit greatly with this book, no doubt, with tips on how to build and modify scripts that can be custom based application on google. This book, not for surfers or casual web designers like me but who indeed aware of Programming and using codes n scripts n perl n xml n what not! Google is an ultimate research tool and a great search engine with good ad words links I like - my fav nex to 'yahoo' search and sure, my websites feature top with key words 'net newspaper for kids' and sure, you find all stars. Google Hacks - a great read for all Web Developers.
Rating: 
Summary: A must for serious web surfers and webmasters
Review: Chapter 8, The Webmaster's Introduction to Google, alone makes the book purchase worthwhile. I received the book today and already see the need for some major search engine optimization on the sites I design. It gives clear guidelines and explanations on how to follow them and brings the next level of sophistication within reach. For those of us who admire the art of the carefully crafted query, it gives the syntax for things I thought weren't possible. Who knew you could enter a phone number and get who it is listed under or search for the same keyword twice for different results?
Rating: 
Summary: Google Geeks Beware
Review: Dont make the same mistake I did: on the advice of numerous sites around the net (/. for one), this book is supposed to deliver loads of new material to both novice and veteran googlers. To the former, definately, as for the latter, there is nothing in this book you have not picked up already.
Rating:
Summary: Very Useful Book!
Review: Excellent tips for the Google user in all of us. Well written and well organized. Like all books in print, though, it doesn't include some of the latest neat developments, like the free tracking service Google Alert... Author Calishain does mention these new ones in her recent articles. Overall, highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: A comprehensive guide to the king of search engines
Review: Few of today's web-savvy would contest Google's superiority among search engines. Behind the austere and simple interface lies a wealth of information just waiting to be tapped. Until now however, tapping all that information and power would likely require scanning dozens of websites hunting down tips for making the most out of Google. Fortunately, Tara Calishain, Rael Dornfest and their colleagues have done most of the legwork for us in O'Reilly's Google Hacks. Google Hacks is another in O'Reilly's Hacks series, "Industrial Strength Tips and Tools". In this case, 100 recipes for just about every imaginable use for Google. O'Reilly uses the term 'hack' in a positive way, meaning a clever technical feat or trick, as opposed to the negative connotation associated with those blackhats who break into computer systems for fun and for profit. Each "hack" is a stand-alone recipe demonstrating some aspect of using Google to find just what you're looking for. Most hacks also contain cross-references to other relevant hacks in the book, so you really don't have to read it from cover to cover. You could start with whatever interests you, and go from there. The book is divided into several chapters, each of which contains several hacks. The first few chapters are targeted at the general end-user, describing in detail all of the various syntaxes you can use when searching with Google, as well as introducing the various topical collections (U.S. government, Linux, Mac, etc.), and other tools (Google Groups, Google News, etc.,) available. The authors are careful to point out where the various syntax pieces are incompatible, and which syntax features are available with which services. Also covered are various tools you can use to (legally) 'scrape' Google search results for further analysis. These chapters will be useful for just about anyone who uses Google. Some of the material (such as directly manipulating URLS to tweak search results and custom HTML forms) may be beyond the reach of some newbies. A general understanding of URLs, HTML and CGI scripting will be helpful in making use of most of the book. The next few chapters are targeted more to developers and propeller-heads, describing the Google Web Service API, as well as providing dozens of scripts (mostly in Perl) for manipulating Google's index via its XML interface. Newbies and the casual user might find all this a bit overwhelming, but anyone with a Perl interpreter could potentially use these scripts to their advantage. One chapter also provides examples of using the API in various other languages including PHP, Java, Python, C#/.NET, and VB.NET. There are enough examples here of using the API in various fashions to get anyone with a sense of programming plenty of starting off points for whatever project they may imagine with Google's wealth of information. The next to last chapter involves a handful of pranks, games, other oddities you can do with Google. Fool your friends with 0-result searches, let Google write poetry or a recipe for you. Draw pictures with Google Groups, or see just how good you are at Google-Whacking. This is the chapter for all of you who have way too much time on your hands ;-). The last chapter in the book is targeted towards webmasters and offers several tips not only on getting your website well-placed in Google's search rankings, but also general help on getting traffic to your site in the first place. The authors also discuss strategies for using Google's AdWords system to the advantage of your business. Overall, the book is very readable, and easy to move through (well, for a geek anyways). Each hack is self-contained, and can be read in a few minutes. Read it near your computer, as you'll likely be wanting to try some of these hacks out as you read them. As for its usefulness, I'm already using things I learned in the book on a regular basis to my daily advantage. However, if you're not more than a casual user of Google, all the scripts and API-speak might be overkill for your needs. The first few and last chapters probably justify the Amazon price for most users, however. The book isn't perfect, though. I did find a few typographical errors scattered through the text, but they weren't prevalent enough to be too distracting. Also, with coverage of such a moving target as a major Internet property like Google, there will likely be links and even certain hacks that may not work, and features that change with time. Finally, the idea of narrowing down your search results to a manageable number surfaces often. In my opinion, what's important is not so much how many search results are found, but rather, whether or not Google can get me what I'm looking for within the first page or two of results, which it usually does, and which is why I use Google in the first place. The real value of the book shows itself on those occasions where Google doesn't necessarily get you where you want to be on the first shot. In summary, true to its cover graphic, Google Hacks will provide you with a large number of tools to get the most out of Google, whether for serious research, casual browsing, procrastination activities, or just plain old fun.
Rating: 
Summary: Good -- but not great
Review: Google Hacks is a fascinating book that catalogs pretty much anything you ever wanted to know about Google. But, the book really consists of two broad sections: One for searchers and researchers; and one for web developers. While there is much to like about the book, there is also much to ignore. I think at times, the authors emulate the writing style of programming books too closely. That's a problem for all the non-technical people who likely bought the book. As it stands now, the book seems terribly unfocused. Still the authors do an admirable job of trying to tie everything together for their unique audiences. As a developer, I found the "Google API hacks" to be useful, but the vast majority of the readers probably will not. And the programming tips take up almost half the book. This is not the only reason I gave Google Hacks three stars. In addition to the problem with focus, the section for webmasters is laughable. Brett Tabke of WembasterWorld, a supposed search engine marketing expert, contributes several of the webmaster "hacks." His sections are perhaps the weakest parts of the book. He tries to explain how to make sure your site ranks highly in Google's search results, but his advice should be ignored. He makes all sorts of proclamations that have no basis in reality; most of his tips are simply his own personal opinion masquerading as fact. It would be nice if he were to cite his sources, but unfortunately for us readers, he does not. On the other hand, the guest section written by Andrew Goodman about Google AdWords tips is top-notch and reason enough for buying the book. All in all, if you're remotely interested in Google, definitely buy this book. But be forewarned about the lackluster guest authors and lack of focus. Who knows? Maybe version two will be better. Keep in mind, also, that this is a book about the Web, so many of the tips contained in the book may be obsolete by the time you read it!
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Summary: David Weeks MyMac.com Book Review
Review: Google is currently the most popular Internet search engine. While almost every Internet searcher is familiar with basics of Google searching, there's far more to Google than meets the eye. Google Hacks tells individual Web searchers and Web site programmers how to best take advantage of Google's tremendous amount of searching power and flexibility. The first three chapters (Searching Google, Google Special Services and Collections, and Third-Party Google Services) are targeted at the end user. They present a wealth of detail about how to access Google features most users didn't know about (myself included): wild cards, date range searches, spell checking, phone book, translations, and more. You'll learn Google has special directories of images, newsgroups, and mail-order catalogs. (I made sure to NOT tell my wife about the on-line catalog feature!) The balance of the book is for web site programmers. They get plenty of tips and tricks about how to incorporate Google search technology into their web sites. While many of the tips are not for novice web programmers, most intermediate webmasters can spruce up their sites with the tools presented in Google Hacks. The production quality is typical O'Reilly, and that means good! Clear screen shots, and crisp dark type make this read easy on the eyes. If you want to learn how to exploit Google searching, or want to add Google search features to your web site, Google Hacks 100 Industrial-Strength Tips and Tools is a good place to begin the learning process. MacMice Rating: 5 out of 5
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Summary: Amazing Google "Quick Reference"
Review: Google is one of the (if not the foremost) most well-known search engines on the 'Net and this book of 100 "Google Hacks" makes anyone's forays into searching on Google much easier and fun. Among the hacks listed in Chapter 1 include "getting around Google's 10 Word Search Limit," Mixing Syntaxes, Date-Range Searching, Using Full-Word Wildcards, Tracking Stocks, and searching article archives. Perfect for "non-geeky types like me. But wait, there's much more! Chapter 2 discusses Google's Special Services and Collections, like the Google Directory, newsgroups and images. There's a chapter explaining the Google Web API and another chapter listing hacks for Google Web API programs. Chapter 7 lists a few hacks (ie. "pranks") you can pull on your friends if you're in a playful mood.The authors have put the usual excellent and thorough job into this book that I've known to love and appreciate about all O'Reilly books. Not only do they take the time to thoroughly explain Google and topics related to Google, they also with a number of hacks show code examples, making it easy to implement them. Hacks (and hackers, not crackers) in recent times have gotten a bad name as another reviewer pointed out. The 100 hacks this book lists are ones that are of benefit to all who use Google as their primary search engine.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Google "Quick Reference"
Review: Google is one of the (if not the foremost) most well-known search engines on the 'Net and this book of 100 "Google Hacks" makes anyone's forays into searching on Google much easier and fun. Among the hacks listed in Chapter 1 include "getting around Google's 10 Word Search Limit," Mixing Syntaxes, Date-Range Searching, Using Full-Word Wildcards, Tracking Stocks, and searching article archives. Perfect for "non-geeky types like me. But wait, there's much more! Chapter 2 discusses Google's Special Services and Collections, like the Google Directory, newsgroups and images. There's a chapter explaining the Google Web API and another chapter listing hacks for Google Web API programs. Chapter 7 lists a few hacks (ie. "pranks") you can pull on your friends if you're in a playful mood. The authors have put the usual excellent and thorough job into this book that I've known to love and appreciate about all O'Reilly books. Not only do they take the time to thoroughly explain Google and topics related to Google, they also with a number of hacks show code examples, making it easy to implement them. Hacks (and hackers, not crackers) in recent times have gotten a bad name as another reviewer pointed out. The 100 hacks this book lists are ones that are of benefit to all who use Google as their primary search engine.
Rating:
Summary: Become a Good Hacker and Effectively Find Info
Review: Google is powerful for basic searches, which most people conduct by entering a few keywords and letting Google do the rest. Imagine the possibilities especially researchers, students, writers, professionals, and anyone who need to find specific or obscure information just by learning a few tricks. Entering _book reviews_ pulls out any resource having both words in it, not necessarily together as a phrase. Add quotes to "book reviews" and the results display sites with book reviews together as a phrase. This hardly unleashes Google's power. Even entering the keywords in a specific order can affect the results. You can search around Google's Web site to learn lesser known tips and tricks, but you won't find most of the hacks on the Internet without, ironically, hard searching. As a fervent reader, too often I read well-written books and never take the time to apply the tools and techniques. While reading this one, I immediately put the newfound knowledge to use with cool results and still use it though it's been a few weeks since I opened the book. You may be aware Google offers Google News, which searches and provides the latest news (http://news.google.com/). But did you know Google News supports two syntaxes? They are "intitle" and "site." "Intitle" searches for keywords within the headline or new item's title while "site" looks for the keyword in a specific site. The authors are straightforward when they mention Google News is not one of the best places for news. Non-techies, don't let the fact that O'Reilly and Associates is the publisher scare you away because the company's books are often synonymous with high tech topics and the name "hacks" in its title. It doesn't mean "bad" as a hack is also known as a trick or add-on for adding more power to a program or system. The tech-speak is kept to a minimum, which makes the hacks easy to read and reference. The book has tips for beginners, moderate users, and experts and each hack is represented by thermometer's temperature (high for expert and low for easy) for easy reference. Techies and programmers have nothing to fear as the book covers APIs (Application Programming Interface), which provide a basic building block for building software applications. In other words, Google Web APIs (http://www.google.com/apis/api_faq.html) allow developers to query Google's search tool for use in developing software that accesses the many Web sites through Google. For example, a Web site providing the latest news on books and the book industry could use the Google API to regularly update the site with any new news relating to books. APIs for PHP, Python, ASP, C#, .NET, VB, and Java are included. Try out some of the hacks and get tips from other readers from the O'Reilly's Hacks Web site (http://hacks.oreilly.com/pub/ht/2) and Tara Calishain's ResearchBuzz buzztoolbox (http://www.buzztoolbox.com/google/). Reduce the time you spend sifting through garbage by hacking your way with Google using this book.
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