Monday, February 15, 2010
Googled: The End of the World As We Know It, by Ken Auletta
The world according to Google, plus ways to save lives, manage time and gain confidence
Is Google (slogan: “Don’t be evil”) a force for good or a rampaging monster?
Googled: The End of the World As We Know It, by Ken Auletta
£12.99 VIRGIN BOOKS
For a company that’s only 11 years old, you could say that Google is doing pretty well. Seven out of every ten internet searches in the world are made with its search engine, its YouTube video site accounts for two thirds of all web video traffic, and the $20bn a year it scoops in advertising revenue adds up to 40 per cent of the total online ad spend. The company is even making headlines on the global political stage, particularly in its long-running tussle with the Chinese government over censorship.
And there’s more. Google wants to digitise almost every book ever published. Google Voice can email you a transcript of your voicemail messages. Then there’s Chrome, the company’s new browser, and Android, its new operating system for mobile devices.
But what lies behind this huge expansion? Is Google (slogan: “Don’t be evil”) a force for good or a rampaging monster? Leading US business journalist Ken Auletta was given unprecedented access to the Google hierarchy when preparing this book and also spoke to a whole gaggle of leading “old media” honchos, many of whom have a few axes to grind with the new kid on the block. The result is a fascinating and wide- ranging account of the Google phenomenon that’s by no means a PR puff. Indeed this impressive book is essential reading not only for media owners but for every single one of us. 9/10
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The Life You Can Save: How To Play Your Part In Ending World Poverty, by Peter Singer
£8.99 PICADOR
For once not a self-help book but a help-others book. Australian philosopher Peter Singer has been writing on poverty for more than three decades and here he presents a cogent case for changing the way we live and think in order to help the plight of the more than a billion people in the world currently living in extreme poverty. It’s a potentially life-changing book, not just for the reader but for millions of others. 9/10
Get A Dog, Don’t Work Like One: Think Differently About Your Work-Life Balance, by Jim Banting
£12.99 MARSHALL CAVENDISH
Jim Banting is an entrepreneur with his finger in a number of pies in a whole gamut of sectors, yet he’s still managed to find time to write this book on managing the work-life balance. Clearly he knows a bit about managing time, so he’s worth listening to. The book is packed with all kinds of tips, as well as case studies and homilies. As with many business books, there’s nothing entirely new here, but it’s a good read nonetheless. 8/10
Self-Confidence: The Remarkable Truth of Why a Small Change Can Make a Big Difference, by Paul McGee
£9.99 WILEY
If you’re lacking in confidence, then assuming you can pluck up the courage to buy this book, you can make a big difference to your life, not only in business but even in love. Or at least so says Paul McGee, one of Europe’s leading motivational speakers and clearly a man not lacking in confidence himself. He writes in easily digestible bite-size chunks and offers some useful lessons along the way. 7/10
The top five …… Britain’s richest authors
1 J K Rowling: £499m
2 Barbara Taylor Bradford: £166m
3 Jackie Collins: £90m
4 Lord Archer: £65m
5 Jack Higgins: £50m
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