For me there is no doubt that the only person who gets close to being able to understand Google and to suggest the way in which the company will develop is Steve Arnold. A couple of years ago Steve wrote a brilliant book on Google entitled The Google Legacy. In it Steve started to use information gleaned from the many patents filed by (and on behalf of) Google, and has further developed this analysis in his new book, just released by Infornortics as a pdf download. In a conference call to analysts on September 20, 2007 Steve commented "Google is poised to make 'big plays' that could help the company reach $100 billion in revenue. Most companies neither understand Google's capabilities nor grasp the significance of the nine-year-old company's technology."

Google  - the calculating predator is not one of the many conventional accounts of the birth and rapid growth of Google that you might find on the shelves of Borders. Instead Steve Arnold looks in great detail at some of the fundamental technical innovations that Google uses to maintain its position in the search industry. 2007Q3 profits were in excess of $1billion. The list is so long that trying to summarise it is not sensible in a blog posting, but you will find detailed contents on the book's web site. By the time you have finished reading it I am sure you will be astounded by the vision, scale and focus of the R&D effort at Google, and also by the level of insight that Steve Arnold provides. 

I can recommend Steve's book without reservation to anyone with an interest in how Google not only works but thinks. The download for a single user is priced at $640.

Martin White