Customer Reviews

Google Earth For Dummies

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is a well written introduction to Google Earth. The fact that it doubles as a wonderful introduction to Google Sketchup means you're getting two outstanding technical primers for the price of one.

As a Google Earth fan from its beta days, I thought a dummies book wouldn't give me enough information to warrant the price of the book, particularly given the abundance of tutorial materials freely available online. This book, while valuable to its base of novice users, offers enough for an intermediate user to justify a thorough reading. For example, while beginners will appreciate the information about geographical terms such as defining latitude and longitude and familiarizing themselves with GPS jargon, other users may find the more comprehensive knowledge about the program's KML file structure and the explanations about the various layers in Google Earth more worth their reading time.

Now again, the addition of the materials on Google Sketchup, a 3D modeling program more likely once intended for CAD and landscape enthusiasts, means that even more accomplished users can use this as a tool to explore Google Earth's more advanced features. I myself had only cursory knowledge of Sketchup before reading this book and was sold on it when I saw how quickly I could get started with 3D modeling and put it to immediate use on Google Earth. Had this book not included the Sketchup section, I would probably have relied on web sites to fill me in on GE's other features. By reading the chapters on Sketchup, I was able to download the program with the confidence that I could begin using the program quickly. I even showed the program to several of my advanced fifth graders who themselves were playing with the program in no time at all.

As a consequence of reading this book, I am a much more capable member of the Google Earth community but I can also now boast some knowledge of 3D modeling. That's not too bad for an Earth dummy.

I had a lot of questions about the nuances of Google Earth, which is why I purchased this book. The Google Earth tutorials are nice, but only go so far in explaining how to use it. "Google Earth for Dummies" goes a long way for explaining the application, how it works, it's nuances, and how to use it for maximum benefit.

As with many of my "for Dummies" books it is a great reference manual that is well organized, well thought out, and well researched that makes finding answers to questions a snap. I use it when trying to decide how to do animations for presentations and how to most effectively illustrate points that need to be made through placement of different elements either from the 3D library or custom 3D items from Google SketchUp (there is even a short tutorial on how to use Google SketchUp).

In short it covers all the bases, is very informative, is intuitive and well aid out, and it functions as a great reference. Mr. Crowder deserves a "well done" for his efforts, and a "Thank You". It is well worth it's price and the time to learn what's in it.

Well written and useful, but for an older version of Google Earth. Wait for the next edition.

I've been struggling trying to figure out how to create custom routes in Google Earth (or Google Maps) that I can then share with friends, family, other members of my motorcycle club, etc. I finally broke down and bought this book because it promised to explain all of that.

After reading through the first 116 pages (it was actually well written and I learned a lot about how to use features of Google Earth I was not getting the most out of), I got to this exciting bit of news at the end of Chapter 7; "If you want to share your tours with other Google Earth users, check out Chapter 8 to see how it's done."

YESSSS!! Finally; the holy grail! I read Chapter 8 ('Mingling With the Community') with great interest, got to the end without a shred of advice on how to "share your tours with other Google Earth users", re-read it and read it again. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

The rest of the book delved deeply into arcane technical subjects and some interesting stuff that I might find useful in personalizing Google Earth, but for my purposes, if I can't share what I've done with others, it's of no use. And nothing in this book explains how to share (unless the author expects me to wade through the archives of Google Earth Community forums to try to figure it out).

So, I'm very disappointed in this book because it did not answer the one question I need to have answered; is there a way to share my custom views of the world with others (other than in a forum)?

It would also help to have a discussion about the difference between Google Maps and Google Earth and how they are related and when to use each.

I bought this because I thought I needed it for a class on Google Earth. As it turns out, the book was not actually required, but I am keeping the book because it goes into great detail explaining the more intricate functions of the program.

I found this book extremely helpful in learning how to use Google Earth effectively, including how to use the KML language. However, since version 5 of Google Earth came out, some of the material in the book is understandably outdated. When the next version comes out, I'll buy it again!

This book is a great start to understand the basics of Google Earth. My one issue is that Google has been updated; with some significant changes that were not available when the book was published.

I have to disagree with the other two reviewers. This book is badly and confusingly written. The chapter on .KML files is almost unreadable and certainly offers no information on the shortcut ways to mark up an image and send it on.

The pictures are awful.

My copy is going back to Amazon.