Well, the book is shipping from Amazon, I am told, and some folks are saying in comments that they are seeing it in bookstores as well. So despite the fact that the official launch date is not till this coming Monday….I guess that means…this is getting very real.
The books’ Amazon ranking has jumped from nearly 3000 on the list to around 1000 – it was near 600 this afternoon….so that must be good, right? If you have any desire to buy the thing, boy, now would be a nice time to do it…I’m told that if the book makes the top echelons of Amazon’s list in its first week, why, that’s a platform for all sorts of good momentum.
The Harvard Business School reviewed it and had nice things to say, so that’s good too….I’ve been warned that reviews are coming from many others in the next week.
And I have a new page tracking all this, inasmuch as I can stay up with it, over here. I plan to update as I can…
Thanks for the input on my last post about this, you seemed to want me to err on the side of keeping you informed…so for those who are in the Bay Area, here are my speaking events. I am due to be in Seattle, New York, and possibly LA and DC as well.
It’d be great to meet you, and if you buy the book, I’ll sign it if you come:
Tuesday, September 13
7:30PM
Books, INc
301 Castro Street
Mountain View, CA 94041
650-428-1234
Thursday, September 15
12:30PM
Stacey’s Book Store
581 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
415-421-4687
Monday, October 3
7:30PM
Barnes & Noble
3600 Stevens Creeks Blvd.
San Jose, CA 95117
408-984-3495
Monday, October 17
7:30PM
Barnes & Noble
11 West Hillsdale Blvd.
Hillsdale Shopping Center
San Mateo, CA 94403
650-341-5560
Monday, October 24
7:00PM
Book Passage
51 Tamal Vista Blvd.
Corte Madera, CA 94925
415-927-0960
Congrats, John. I recently published a book in Japanese called “The Search Engine Wars”, and let me tell you, checking Amazon sales rankings is highly addictive. I got up to 364 on amazon.co.jp for the very briefest of moments. Was at 1,417 last I checked (uh, 30 seconds ago..). Here’s to hoping you can break into the top 100. Any plans for a Japanese translation? I know it would sell here–just do me a favor and wait a year or so, eh? 🙂
Amazon’s just reported the book was shipped:
The following items were included in this shipment:
———————————————————————
Qty Item Price Shipped Subtotal
———————————————————————
1 The Search: How Google and It $17.13 1 $17.13
———————————————————————
Item Subtotal: $17.13
Shipping & Handling: $8.98
Total: $26.11
estimated delivery date: October 11, 2005
I snagged a copy earlier today and I can’t put it down. I’m about halfway done. I’m sure I’ll have more to say when I’m done, but I’ve really enjoyed it so far.
Congrats, John. All the best.
Congrats – I can’t wait to read it! I’ve had your book pre-ordered since May 13 and Amazon says it will ship on September 10th – 13th.
Your excitement/anxiety is palpable and really great to feel. I know you want the book received well but I hope nothing anyone might say gives you greater satisfaction than the simple realization that from your hard work and dedication you’ve produced a book you’re proud of. Can’t wait to read it.
Just received a complimentary copy from Penguin – – desk copy for ordering 90 for a class I’m teaching this fall at the University of Wisconsin. So it’s definitely making its way into people’s hands this week. Congratulations!
As I had commented before, I got the book on Tuesday and finished it Wednesday… A pretty good read. I most enjoyed the history of the prior “search” engines, especially AltaVista. I remember AltaVista being the “Google” of its day. I think the history of AltaVista is almost as twisted as Palm’s! Funny and fun to read about Excite … and that they are literally history and kids today don’t remember them (or Netscape, the company!) or the madness!
Also, the industry is still moving on “Netscape Time” compared to the publishing world – Louis Monier is mentioned on p. 163 that he is at eBay now… but we all know now that he is going to Google!
BusinessWeek’s review is available online at:
How Google Got Its Groove
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_38/b3951149.htm
John, please keep us posted about your plans to be in DC.
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #29 in Books as of 10:35M 9/16/05. Just…wow.
Hi John, Can’t wait to read it, but if you don’t mind, I’m going to wait and see if Kepler’s Books in Menlo Park resurrects itself (finger’s crossed). And then I hope you can make an appearance there! Best of luck, Katie