Comments about oreilly Google: The Missing Manual, Second Edition:

This book does a great job of covering topics ranging from how to use Google (and Gmail), how to be recognized by Google, and how to utilize Google offerings such as adwords and analytics.

The book is spilt into 4 general categories:

Using Google For Searching

Goolgle Tools

Information For Webmasters

Using Gmail

The searching section is very in-depth. Different types of searches, things that can be searched, and items besides web pages are all covered. I appreciated the short section describing when alternatives to Google work betters as well (although Google is still the search king).

Google tools covers images, maps, news, directory and print plus groups, answers, shopping, and the Google Toolbar.

The webmaster section is for those looking to have their site noticed by Google or not noticed. The second was an interesting addition. Most books cover how to get Google to see your site much more than how to keep from being seen. Google ads are also covered in-depth.

The section on GMail was some of the most interesting topics.

Overall I give the book an "A" and it is very conprehensive. To get the "A+", I would like to have seen additional coverage on the Google API.

Comments about oreilly Google: The Missing Manual, Second Edition:

When people think of Google, they think of a place to search for various items. And while Google could be considered the definitive search engine, it's so much more. This updated edition of Google: The Missing Manual proves that. While the book's first two chapters discuss the Google search engine and ways to make your searching more fun, there's a lot more to Google.

You can also use Google to find locations by using Google Images and Maps. Or use Froogle to find a good buy on various items you're looking for. There's also a wealth of information for WebMasters about Google, like making your site easier fore the Google searh bots to find, or finding out how many are visiting your site per day or week. And of course there's Google Mail (also known as Gmail), which allows you 2 GB of free space. All of these Google features are well described in this book.

This is a wonderful resource if you spend a lot of time using Google.