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)

GOOGLE NATION

In the Plex”, is a journey into “the force” of Google nation. Like Star Wars, Steven Levy reveals good and evil inherent in “the force” as it applies to the Google federation. Levy offers an insightful history of Google’s origin, philosophy, and growth.

Google exemplifies the “information age” by creating a search engine for all human knowledge and experience. Google endeavors to accumulate a comprehensive data base of the world’s knowledge while creating a search engine for anyone seeking information.

Collection and search of information is as potentially evil as it is good. Google’s explosive growth as a search engine skunk works is as likely to be a tool of a Star War’s like Evil Empire as a Star War’s Federation. The metrics of Google’s growth boggles the mind; particularly when one considers the bulk of their employees (engineers) are some of the smartest people on the planet.

Levy’s book reveals the best and worst of the Google complex. Page and Brin are among the best and brightest of the 21st century but Google’s founders and employees, like all human beings, are fallible and subject to all the sins of humankind; not the least of which is hubris and greed.

Great Book!

Any additional comments?

The book is very well written and highly interesting. The author is reflecting on the decisions taken by the management of Google and reports (as far as I can tell) objectively on the rise of a very unique company of our time.

Fascinating

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

This audible book was a very interesting perspective and brief history of time that I found fascinating. It was enlightening to hear about the start and growth of a company that helped build how many of us operate on a daily basis. I've encouraged friends, colleagues and family to listen to this. The one aspect that was unexpected is the Marissa Mayer interview at the end without a prologue on the potential impact of her departure to a company that could emerge, potentially, as a competitor.

Interesting how quickly our world becomes history

What made the experience of listening to In the Plex the most enjoyable?

There are a lot of references to Digital Equipment Corporation. Everyone I know in the midwest and Houston area pronounced the company DEC (like Deck to side on, not D E C). Interesting to see the role Sheryl Sandburg (now of Facebook) had in Google maturing.

What other book might you compare In the Plex to and why?

A nice study in the growth of one of the largest companies in the world that affects us all, even if you don't use a computer or a GPS.

What about L. J. Ganser’s performance did you like?

Enough enthusiasm to keep it interesting, but not feeling phony. But, there are a lot of references to Digital Equipment Corporation. Everyone I know in the midwest and Houston area pronounced the company DEC (like Deck on a ship, rhymes with Tech, not D E C). It was really annoying. It may be a style standard, but common usage should prevail here.

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

We grew up and are taking over the world.

Any additional comments?

There are a lot of references to Digital Equipment Corporation. Everyone I know in the midwest and Houston area pronounced the company DEC (like Deck to side on, not D E C).

Comprehensive look into Google

This book is a good line of information about how google is organised and their development and evolution from a startup to one of the biggest technological player. The details about each products from conception to technical details make this a very interested ‘read’ and definitely one of my favorite audio book so far!
Narration is perfect and makes you want to keep listening! Thank you!

Awesome snapshot of Google in 2010

Not only a snapshot of Google, but also of the web-tools at that time. To think that the book ends saying that Facebook is making no money and hasn't got an idea of how to capitalise on ads.

didn't like the narrator...

well, overall listening to him was pretty much not interesting way to read this kind of stories.
apart from "data" pronounciation, i kept thinking i didn't like the way he reading it... or maybe just the voice...

The guys who helped shape the data-driven world

Since the advent of the Internet, it was probably a matter of time that the society became more data-driven. But the two founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, definitely pushed this process forward like no other people could. As mentioned in the book, this probably had to do with the fact that both guys happened to be educated in Montessori schools (which encourage students to question the authority and follow one's own quest) earlier in their lives. The book provides a fair assessment of how they evolved as Google became a big company, and yet they tried to retain their original goals. Google tends to be criticized for their invasion of privacies, and I admit that I also always felt nervous about what data they were collecting and how they were using them. But after listening to this book, at least I understand their original intentions and appreciate what they have done to a large extent. I thought the book was a bit too long (nearly 20 hours) - perhaps the author could have delivered the same information with a 2/3 of the length. The narrator was very good.

The Scoop

What did you love best about In the Plex?

Well told story of about the biggest disruptor as of recent. Hopefully the company turns into a non-profit, or some other better organizational model.

Mind numbing narration

Every narrator should be required to pronounce names of key people correctly. Interesting and thorough story.