BOOK REVIEW:
How
does a company that specializes in 'search' become one of
the world’s most phenomenal brands in less than a decade?
To
the average internet user like you and me for example, 'Search'
technology is apparently nothing new. AltaVista, Yahoo, Lycos,
Ask Jeeves were already there way before Google makes its
imprints on the tech world. So let’s go back to the
previous question, how did Google do it?
With
"The Google Story", Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter
David A. Vise and Mark Malseed takes us on a journey and recap
how Google founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin revolutionized
the world with their quest to deliver lightning fast search
results.
Vise
and Malseed fortunately took an easy and relaxed approach
to telling "The Google Story". The technology description
is amazingly light so it won’t bore the non-techies
group. There’s even a short chapter dedicated to the
history and background of Page and Brin. The infamous ‘free
lunches’ inside Google is also mentioned.
As
a business-oriented book, "The Google Story" lacks
certain insights simply the book did not contain any interviews
with the founders. In a way, it’s almost similar to
a history text book packaged as an exciting corporate tale.
Some of the information presented in the book is not exactly
fresh material either.
While
it lacks important perspectives to the company which just
celebrated its tenth anniversary, it’s a good start
to readers who wishes to retrace the history of the billion
dollars worth company. Ironically, you can 'google' in your
spare time for more news of "Google" if you find
reading this book is too stale.
CHOICE XCERPT:
(The recipe for the famous Buttermilk Fried Chicken which
is served in Google)
½
c thyme
¼ c Oregon
¼ c basil
½ c onion powder
½ c garlic powder
½ c dry mustard
½ c paprika
¼ c chili powder
½ c celery seed
2 Tbsp salt
½ c coriander
½ c cumin
1/3 c kosher salt
¼ c cayenne pepper
½ c ground black pepper
¼ c ground white pepper
3 gals.
Buttermilk
3 cases organic free-range chicken (roughly 30 chickens, divided
into 1.5 to 2lb sections)
Mix these
amounts of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl then
whisk in the buttermilk until it’s thoroughly mixed.
Pour the batter over the chickens and marinate for up to five
days – keep refrigerated of course.
For frying
Now mix another 4x the above dry ingredients and add:
2 lbs cornstarch
8 qts all-purpose organic whole wheat flour
Dredge the marinated chicken pieces in the dry herbs/flour/corn-starch
mixture. Fry the dredged chicken in a large skillet with hot
peanut oil at 375 degrees. Once chicken has reached a golden
brown colour, finish cooking it in the oven.
VERDICT:
While it lacks the founders’ personal insights,
in exchange, the book had a detailed account of the company’s
history and the turn of events in which it changes the world’s
perspective of the word 'search'.
Review
by Linus Tee
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