Search engine expert Chris Sherman writes book on how to get the most out of the Google search engine.

Chris Sherman is one of the leading experts on search engines around today. He runs his own search engine marketing company, Searchwise LCC, and is editor of Search Engine Watch’s newsletter SearchDay.

Those who have seen him in action at the Search Engine Strategies search engine marketing conferences, knows that he comes out as a friendly, intelligent and trustworthy guy.

However, this time we are not going to write about his search engine marketing capabilities. This time we will take a look at his expertise in the field of search and intelligence retrieval.

Given that everyone seems to find it as easy to use the Google search form as using the telephone, one may argue that we do not need books that tell us how to search.

However, anyone who have studied search engines like Google more closely, knows that most users doesn’t even scratch the surface of what the search engine has to offer. They are presented with a space ship, but use it as a bike.

“I first wrote about Google in 1999 on About.com,” Chris says, “just weeks after the search engine was born. This books represents the distillation of everything Google-related that I’ve observed, experimented with, and been captivated by since.”

And it is this that makes Google Power such a good book.

So what do you get?

You do, of course, get the regular introduction to how the search engine works, the Google interface, and advanced search syntax (Boolean or menu based). There is, for instance, a whole chapter devoted to those small and nifty “field” search operators that lets you limit your search to a specific site, domain, title text and more.

The book also tells you have to read the search results, and distinguish between, let’s say, regular organic search results and pay per click text ads.

However, what makes this book extra interesting is what it tells you about all the additional services provided by Google, i.e. the world beyond the regular search engine.

There is a special chapter on “Hidden Google Tools”, including dictionaries, news, stock quotes and street maps. Another chapter presents the image search facility, while yet another tells you how to use Google to search Usenet discussion forums and Google Groups.

As far as we can see, all the services provided by Google are covered, including beta test programs like Froogle shopping search and Google Answers, and software like the Google Toolbar and Google Desktop Search.

This is only the beginning. Chris also writes about efficient search techniques, for instance for finding people, news, travel information, goods and services, technical support or online health information.

He writes about using Google (and other online search engines) for mapping current cultural trends (“What People Search For”), and he looks at various tools and software programs that can be used to enhance your Google searches (web site monitors, bookmark managers etc.).

Moreover, there is one appendix covering the information Google gathers about you in cookies and databases, and another on the technical side of Google.

In short: Chris gives you an abundance of information, more than any other search guide we have read. And no, you cannot read the more than 400 pages in one go. However, if you do take the time, and read the sections you need the most in your line of work, you will become a better searcher and a more efficient researcher.

Librarians, researchers and journalist will find this information to be very valuable. However, this is also a book for the regular web searcher. It is highly recommended!

The book can be bought online from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk