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)

Broad, deep and worth it

I have always been a big fan of Google, and have read other books about it, and yet this book managed to give me even more insight into the company and a bigger appreciation of its actions and results in the context of its DNA. Levy succeeds in making a lot of detailed information (depth) relevant and connected to the bigger picture (breadth) in a way that made a long book like this interesting in every page (or in this case, every minute). Thoroughly enjoyable and enlightening listen.

An interesting look into Google.

The book was a very interesting listen. I think that it apeals to me because I am very technically inclined.

Good narration with one annoying problem.

Any additional comments?

L. J. Ganser is a fine performer, but well known names were pronounced incorrectly, the one that stands out is Marissa Mayer, not once was her last name said correctly. That drove me nuts!

A great look at how Google thinks

This book was a good, clear book that showed how the company Google thinks about it's mission, works on the inside, and affects our lives, as the subtitle says. Some bits here and there delve into technical aspects but was simplified well. As a programmer and someone who follows the tech industry this book shed a little light on why Google has done the things it did.

Interesting story - just a little one-sided

Where does In the Plex rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The story and background are great. I really enjoy learning how "startups" like this are conceived and how they grow to be the global forces they are today. However, the author does not appear to have any distance between himself and the story. He is clearly enamored with the founders and spends countless pages telling us how "amazing" these guys are. I prefer the "Steve Jobs" book approach. In that book, the author sang the praises when due but also exposed the warts, pimples and just plain ugliness of the man/story. In the Plex makes you believe that these two had some grand plan and that each step was preplanned for maximum success. Reality is, they fell ass-backwards into a gold mine. Good for them ... but tell the story from some source other than the ego-driven Serge and Page.

GREAT CORPORATE BIO

This is a great biography of a corporation and an important addition to the history of the internet. For those who remember DOS and a super clunky internet, the notion that Microsoft is considered evil and Google was a white knight in the early days, won't be news but for those who came later, this is interesting information to know.

Useful insight

This book appears to give unbiased (somewhat) insight into how Google became what it is today.

Excellent insight

Detailed and excellent account of how Google works from a journalist who really, really knows Google!!

A Living Legend

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This is an amazing story of how Google initiated and expanded it's work

What did you like best about this story?

This gives the power of thinking big.

What does L. J. Ganser bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He is narrating the book with emotions.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I was amazed by the vision behind key players of Google.

Any additional comments?

If you are interested in Internet and Information technology this book gives a nice insight about search mechanisms.

A superbly narrated riveting story of Google

Any additional comments?

Precisely what I wanted to read (in fact listen) about the history of Google. It's excellently researched and the narration was perfect.