Google's PageRank and Beyond: The Science of Search Engine Rankings (Hardcover)

by Amy N. Langville (Author), Carl D. Meyer (Author) "Today we have museums for everythingthe museum of hasehall, of hasehall players, of crazed fans of hasehall players, museums for world wars, national battles, legal..." (more)
Key Phrases: hyperlink matrix, nondangling nodes, link analysis model, Google Dance, World Wide Web, Internet Archive (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"If I were taking, or teaching, a course in linear algebra today, this book would be a godsend". -- Ed Gerstner, Nature Physics

"It is an utterly engaging book, especially for one that depends so heavily on linear algebra to drive the plot". -- William J. Satzer, MAA Online

"They successfully introduce such web-searching principles as crawling, linking, and indexing together with basic algebraic ideas". -- Ian D. Gordon, Library Journal

Review
This is a worthwhile book. It offers a comprehensive and erudite presentation of PageRank and related search-engine algorithms, and it is written in an approachable way, given the mathematical foundations involved.
(Jonathan Bowen Times Higher Education Supplement )

If I were taking, or teaching, a course in linear algebra today, this book would be a godsend.
(Ed Gerstner Nature Physics )

Amy N. Langville and Carl D. Meyer examine the logic, mathematics, and sophistication behind Google's PageRank and other Internet search engine ranking programs. . . . It is an excellent work.
(Ian D. Gordon Library Journal )

Google's PageRank and Beyond describes the link analysis tool called PageRank, puts it in the context of web search engines and information retrieval, and describes competing methods for ranking webpages. It is an utterly engaging book.
(Bill Satzer MathDL.maa.org )

This book should be at the top of anyone's list as a must-read for those interested in how search engines work and, more specifically how Google is to meet the needs of so many people in so many ways.
(Michael W. Berry SIAM Review )

Langville and Meyer present the mathematics in all its detail. . . . But they vary the math with discussions of the many issues involved in building search engines, the 'wars' between search engine developers and those trying to artificially inflate the position of their pages, and the future of search-engine development. . . . Google's PageRank and Beyond makes good reading for anyone, student or professional, who wants to understand the details of search engines.
(James Hendler Physics Today )

This book is written for people who are curious about new science and technology as well as for those with more advanced background in matrix theory.... Much of the book can be easily followed by general readers, while understanding the remaining part requires only a good first course in linear algebra. It can be a reference book for people who want to know more about the ideas behind the currently popular search engines, and it provides an introductory text for beginning researchers in the area of information retrieval.
(Jiu Ding Mathemathical Reviews )

The book is very attractively and clearly written. The authors succeed to manage in an optimal way the presentation of both basic and more sophisticated concepts involved in the analysis of Google's PageRank, such that the book serves both audiences: the general and the technical scientific public.
(Constantin Popa Zentralblatt MATH )

...for anyone who wants to delve deeply into just how Google's PageRank works, I recommend Google's PageRank and Beyond.
(Stephen H. Wildstrom BusinessWeek )

The book under review is excellently written, with a fresh and engaging style. The reader will particularly enjoy the 'Asides' interspersed throughout the text. They contain all kind of entertaining stories, practical tips, and amusing quotes. . . . The book also contains some useful resources for computation.
(Pablo Fernandez Mathematical Intelligencer )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 234 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press; illustrated edition edition (July 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691122024
• ISBN-13: 978-0691122021
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #204,427 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars surveys search techniques, August 16, 2006

By	W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Langville and Meyer have done a superb job describing both Google's technical foundations, and the broader subject of how search engines rank pages. Over half the book is devoted to explaining the maths and rationales behind PageRank. The level of maths is understandable to those who have done some university level courses on linear algebra (i.e. matrices).

The book also has considerable value in analysing what other organisations (like search engines) and researchers have cobbled together. It gives a useful summation of the state of the research, circa 2006. Essentially, everyone seems to focus on link analysis, after Google revolutionised the industry in 1998 by using this. It blew away the previous leader, AltaVista.

It is true, as the authors point out, that most of the material here has already been published. But as discrete events, scattered through various scientific journals and websites. You can certainly get explanations of PageRank on several websites. But the mathematical depth and reliability of those discussions can vary with the site. The book is far handier.

It is a good starting point, if you are interesting in devising your own search methods.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars practical and fun, January 18, 2007

By	jim (Davis, CA) - See all my reviews

Great work! I wish I read it before I start my Ph.D. study.

Pros:
1) Precise and intuitive description of the search algorithm

2) Plenty of interesting stories making mathematics fully applicable in practice

3) Sample Matlab code available

Cons:

This is actually a perfect book. But one needs to have basic linear algebra to appreciate its value. If you are looking for "SEO", you are in a wrong spot.
But if anyone wonder how Page and Brin turn math into treasure, read it!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars truly pagerank and beyond, March 9, 2007

By	M. Clements (Netherlands) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Great book describing the algorithms that made current search engines so useful and popular. The book describes the math behind the pagerank and HITS algorithms, supported by MATLAB code. Wonderfully written!

Do not buy this book if you want to know how to use search engines, only if you want to understand them!