How It Works

Search Inside!™ allows you to search millions of pages to find exactly the book you want to buy. With Search Inside!, search results will include titles based on every word inside the book. Search Inside! results are displayed interspersed with results that match the title and/or author of the book.

Find Results Across Millions of Pages

Let's say that you're interested in finding books about "energy swaps", “grilling peppers” or “transcendental philosophy”. Just like any other search on Amazon, simply type a phrase in the search box and click Go! You'll get a list of the books that contain that term in the author's name, the book's title, or in the book's text.



In addition, for books in our Search Inside! program, we’ll automatically display search results where the phrase is found inside the books text. For each match, we’ll display the page number and an excerpt where your search term highlighted. You can follow this link to view the actual pages where the result occurs using the Amazon Online Reader.


How else can I Search Inside! a single book?

Once you’ve discovered a particular book and are on a book detail page, there are three additional ways to search inside. (Note: Search Inside! books are easily identifiable by looking for the Search Inside arrow that stickers the cover image.

Search via the Cover Image Popover
By placing your mouse over the cover image, a box will appear displaying key Search Inside information about a book and a search box.

By entering a phrase and clicking Go!, you will be taken to the Amazon Online Reader and presented with a list of matches for that phrase in this book. You can follow the links to see the terms highlighted on a particular page.


Search via the “Inside This Book” Section
Further down on the detail page, there is a section called “Inside This Book” showing more information about this book and displaying a search box. By entering a phrase and clicking Go!, you will be taken to the Amazon Online Reader and presented with a list of matches for that phrase in this book. You can follow the links to see the terms highlighted on a particular page.

Search via Amazon Online Reader
From inside of Online Reader, you can also use Search Inside! feature. Enter your phrase and click Go!. You’ll then see a list of matches for that phrase in this book. You can follow the links to see the terms highlighted on a particular page.

Do I need to be signed in?

If you are a recognized customer of Amazon who has made a purchase in the past, we'll take you directly to the page you selected. If you are not a recognized customer of Amazon, we'll ask you to sign in.
Once you have signed in, we'll take you directly to the page you selected. The page is displayed with your search term highlighted, and you can browse forward and back two pages. In addition, you'll find a navigation bar in the left-hand column of the Amazon Online Reader that allows you to search for other terms in the book and browse other sample pages.

What additional Search Inside! features are available?

In addition to using Search Inside! to find text inside a book, there are other related Search Inside! features. These features include:

• First Sentence: The first sentence of the book and a link to start reading the first page is displayed below the book's title and in the "Inside this book" section.
• Key Phrases: Key Phrases are made up of both Capitalized Phrases, or "CAPs" and Statistically Improbable Phrases or “SIPs”. Together, these provide a quick glimpse into distinctive phrases and subjects in the text of the book. You can click on a Key Phrase to view a list of books in which the phrase occurs.
• Sample Pages: Links to different sections of the book, such as the Front and Back Cover, Index, Table of Contents, and an Excerpt, are displayed when you roll your mouse over the cover image and the "Inside this book" section.
• Citations: If a book cites other books, or is cited by other books, the other books are listed, along with links to the page where the citation occurs.
• Books on Related Topics (BORTS): Our Books on Related Topics feature uses Key Phrases to identify when books discuss similar topics and Key Phrases.
• Text Stats: This is a collection of statistics on the text in a book, such as the number of words and paragraphs, and readability measurements for the text.