Web Search Garage

Those familiar with Calishain’s ResearchBuzz know of her expertise with search engines, Google especially. Her previous book is Google Hacks. This is a book of a different nature and doesn’t focus solely on Google.
Anyone who uses the Internet to do searching and research will find this book valuable. I’ve been using operators and special syntaxes in searching for a long time, yet I’ve learned a few new tricks from the book such as more syntaxes and ways to improve searching that I hadn’t considered.
I’ve had to learn most of the tips in the book on my own over several years. If I had this book sooner, it would’ve saved me time and have shortened some of my searches.
Calishain shares principles for conducting various types of searches as one search method doesn’t fit all. Though a Google fan, I don’t use it every time simply because some other search engines better meet the needs of a search. This is the advantage this book has over Google Hacks. You learn about the big picture of using search tools rather than focusing on one.
This book stands out because it describes the process of doing it. It “shows” you. She uses an example and tweaks the search syntax while letting you in on her thought process. Once you understand the principles, the rest is easy and the book becomes a great reference for remembering syntax, Web sites, and when to use a specific search engine.
Web sites that are excellent places to go for reference are listed in the book. I watch out for such information because we know Web sites come and go. However, these sites have been around for a long time and are reliable references.
With so many pages and subjects out there, it’s impossible to cover them all. Calishain manages to cover a good variety of topics enough to interest each reader. Example topics include people searching, news searching, jobs, finding local information, and genealogy. The table of contents should give you a good idea of what’s addressed and tell you exactly what the book covers. If you like the table of contents, you should be happy with the book.
Title: Web Search Garage
Author: Tara Calishain
Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR
ISBN: 0131471481
Date: August 2004
Format: Paperback
Pages: 264
Cover Price (of course, it’s marked down): USD$19.99
CDN: 28.99
UK: 15.99