Includes bibliographical references (p. 201-257) and index.

Open and closed -- Unlimited capacity -- The algorithm -- Moon shot -- Gootube -- Small world, after all -- A personal matter -- Algorithm, meet humanity.

Based on unprecedented access he received to the highly secretive "Googleplex," acclaimed New York Times columnist Randall Stross takes readers deep inside Google, the most important, most innovative, and most ambitious company of the Internet Age. His revelations demystify the strategy behind the company's recent flurry of bold moves, all driven by the pursuit of a business plan unlike any other: to become the indispensable gatekeeper of all the world's information, the one-stop destination for all our information needs. Will Google succeed? And what are the implications of a single company commanding so much information and knowing so much about us?--From publisher description.

Originally published in hbk.: 2008.