Foolish Book Review: "The Google Story"

The Google Story is full of interesting stories about Google (NASDAQ:GOOG). For example, did you know that Google employees spend 20% of their time on special projects that appeal to them?

Oh, you did know that.

Well, did you know that the Google IPO was arranged as a Dutch auction that leveled the playing field for average investors? You knew that too, huh?

And therein lies the problem with The Google Story. Google is so closely followed by the media that everyone already knows the story. I know Google's history just from poking around Fool.com.

Author David A. Vise does fill in some missing pieces. Most importantly, I learned much about the founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page. These guys are brilliant, but they are also very capable businessmen. One interesting anecdote occurred in the fall of 2004. Sergey and Larry learned that Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) had become the exclusive provider of ads for AOL Europe. It was a huge blow to the Googlers. Brin and Page immediately flew to London to meet with AOL, ignoring protests from their staff that it was too late. They presented an "irresistible" offer, including a financial guarantee worth millions. AOL eventually accepted the offer.

"Brin and Page demonstrated that they not only were visionary founders of a business and technologists," says Vise, "but also hands-on managers and aggressive businessmen. It was unusual to find engineers with their persistence and deal-making skills." An AOL executive commented that this is what separates Google from other companies, and no doubt contributes to its enormous success.

Two other points worth mentioning:

1. Our very own Foolish analyst Tom Taulli is quoted in the book regarding the Google IPO. Way to go, Tom!
2. The fascinating Google Labs Aptitude Test for new hires is included in the appendix. It includes questions like "What is the most beautiful math equation ever derived?" and "What's the coolest hack you've ever written?" (Full test and answers are found here.) I hope our HR department doesn't get any ideas.

The real Google story, I think, has yet to be written. Google as a public company is not even three years old. It faces incredible challenges like privacy issues, copyright laws, click fraud, and competition from big players like Yahoo! and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). Google's been an amazing success story so far, but the ride is just beginning.

If you want to brush up on your Google, this book is a great place to start. But if you already know the story, you might be more interested in these articles:

• The Fool interviews David Vise, author of The Google Story.
• Google's Bid for Bookworms
• The Best Blue Chip for 2007: Google
• The Two Faces of Google

Microsoft is an Inside Value recommendation, and Yahoo! is a Stock Advisor selection. You can check out any of our newsletters free for 30 days.

Joey Khattab does not own shares of any of the companies mentioned. The Fool has a disclosure policy.