In the Plex

How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives

By: Steven Levy

Narrated by: L. J. Ganser

Length: 19 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Few companies in history have ever been as successful and as admired as Google, the company that has transformed the Internet and become an indispensable part of our lives. How has Google done it? Veteran technology reporter Steven Levy was granted unprecedented access to the company, and in this revelatory book he takes listeners inside Google headquarters - the Googleplex - to explain how Google works.

While they were still students at Stanford, Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin revolutionized Internet search. They followed this brilliant innovation with another, as two of Google's earliest employees found a way to do what no one else had: make billions of dollars from Internet advertising. With this cash cow (until Google's IPO, nobody other than Google management had any idea how lucrative the company's ad business was), Google was able to expand dramatically and take on other transformative projects: more efficient data centers, open-source cell phones, free Internet video (YouTube), cloud computing, digitizing books, and much more.

The key to Google's success in all these businesses, Levy reveals, is its engineering mind-set and adoption of such Internet values as speed, openness, experimentation, and risk taking. After it's unapologetically elitist approach to hiring, Google pampers its engineers with free food and dry cleaning, on-site doctors and masseuses, and gives them all the resources they need to succeed. Even today, with a workforce of more than 23,000, Larry Page signs off on every hire.

But has Google lost its innovative edge? It stumbled badly in China. And now, with its newest initiative, social networking, Google is chasing a successful competitor for the first time. Some employees are leaving the company for smaller, nimbler start-ups. Can the company that famously decided not to be "evil" still compete?

No other book has turned Google inside out as Levy does with In the Plex.

This edition of In the Plex includes an exclusive interview with Google's Marissa Mayer, one of the company's earliest hires and most visible executives, as well as the youngest woman to ever make Fortune's "50 Most Powerful Women in Business" list. She provides a high-level insider's perspective on the company's life story, its unique hiring practices, its new social networking initiative, and more.

©2011 Steven Levy (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Thoroughly versed in technology reporting, Wired senior writer Levy deliberates at great length about online behemoth Google and creatively documents the company’s genesis from a 'feisty start-up to a market-dominating giant'.... Though the author offers plenty of well-known information, it’s his catbird-seat vantage point that really gets to the good stuff. Outstanding reportage delivered in the upbeat, informative fashion for which Levy is well known." ( Kirkus Reviews)

"The book, a wide-ranging history of the company from start-up to behemoth, sheds light on the biggest threats Google faces today, from the Chinese government to Facebook and privacy critics." ( The New York Times)

“With a commanding voice, L.J. Ganser narrates this history and exploration of Google….Ganser’s stern voice is clear and moves through the text with determination.” ( AudioFile)

Fascinating but slow starting

Well narrated, easy to understand. The beginning was hard to get into and it went way deeper on China than I think was needed. But overall it laid out -- in a way I could easily understand -- the story behind Google, its founders, the technology, company culture, and company ways of working.

Great insight into Google

The author explores this dynamic organization, which continues to change humanity, in very thorough way.

Fascinating insight

Google is 13 years old and this book gave me so much insight into the phenomenon. I find myself looking at the Google site with much more appreciation than before. Took me a while to get used to the figures and statistics and so on, but once I had that sorted I found this book fascintaitng.

Interesting

Really enjoyed the knowledge this book had inside. Some of the information was a bit tedious, but it was an eye opener.

I lost respect for Google. in some ways as a result of this book, but the fact remains, Google has created the greatest company imaginable.

Fascinating look inside of Google.

This was an interesting listen. As a long time Google user I thought I knew a lot about googles history (I didn't), but this book goes into great detail about many of your favorite services.

the narration was very well done and kept me interested.

A Fascinating Look Inside of Google

I wonder how I lived without Google, and I know the younger generation has no clue what life was like without this amazing company. This book goes inside the company and talks about the culture from the viewpoint of one of its early employees.
AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY

A good listen

A solid Google overview, but note that this was published in 2011, so that's as far as you'll get. This was my first audible listen - enjoyed it!

I like it

What did you love best about In the Plex?

The time line of the company

What did you like best about this story?

How the founders of Google took their thesis out to the people

Bought

Would you try another book from Steven Levy and/or L. J. Ganser?

No. Steven seems to be in love with Google, and the whole book seems to be something Google have bougth.
Still it was an interesting and well written book.

Good but NOT Great

Who was your favorite character and why?

Salar Kamangar: The Man who does not crave attention, does his job well, and well, knows the secret to success.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Gu Ge : Google's Chinese name

Any additional comments?

The story is good, but the author went too much in details where not needed and brushed the topics which could have used some more details.

Also the author jumped a lot back and forth in time, making it a bit difficult to sometimes get a good grip of the story.