Search Engines for the World Wide Web (Visual QuickStart Guide) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Emily Glossbrenner (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Search Engines for the World Wide Web Visual Quickstart Guide is exactly what Web guides should be--concise, easily referenced, informative, and appropriate for all levels of expertise. If you have ever had the problems that most surfers experience when conducting a search--dredging up 100,000-plus hits on AltaVista, finding coffee pages when searching for Java, or pulling up the dreaded goose egg--you need to have this book close at hand. From the basics of searching to the specifics of the major Web search sites, you'll find out what to look for, where to look for it, and how to get the best results the first time.

The authors give each of six major search engines--Yahoo!, AltaVista, Excite, Infoseek, Lycos, and HotBot--its own easily tabbed chapter, with charts for fast reference and complete descriptions of each engine's query terms for dramatically improved performance. The book also describes the more advanced features of each engine, with step-by-step guides to access these features, and covers what each engine is best suited for. Search Engines for the World Wide Web also gathers the quick reference charts into an appendix for even faster access.

An introductory chapter discusses the basics of searching--unique keywords, Boolean operators, and the Seven Habits of Effective Web Searches--which will be valuable even if you consider yourself an expert at searching the Web. Other chapters cover specialized engines such as DejaNews for Usenet newsgroups, Liszt for mailing lists, Four11 for people-finding, Zip2 for yellow pages, and a whole host of sites for finding information on specific topics and subjects. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This great little book covers all the major search engines web users deal with every day?AltaVista, Excite, HotBot, InfoSeek, Lycos, and Yahoo! The authors look at how search engines work, keywords and Boolean searching, and searching for businesses, people, zip codes, and Internet domain names. There is information to get technophobes comfortable with the basics as well as advanced techniques that will help professional researchers and librarians. Highly recommended.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 274 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Pr; 2nd edition (November 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201353857
• ISBN-13: 978-0201353853
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,079,290 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brush Up On Your Search Skills Today!, September 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Search Engines for the World Wide Web (Visual QuickStart Guide) (Paperback)

     The Internet is a world wide network of people, computers, cables, servers, and repositories of stored information. For many online members the use of the Internet can appear to be a formidable challenge. A considerable amount of information is available at their fingertips. Fortunately they have a number of ways to intelligently access this information for purposes of fun, pleasure, research, and employment. They may use word-of-mouth, printed and online Internet directories, and special online search tools to find the information they need in a timely manner.

     Alfred and Emily Glossbrenner have written Search Engines for the World Wide Web to offer members of the online community with valuable insight on how to make more productive use of the most popular and powerful search engines in use today. Search engines have been designed to allow users to enter specific search criteria such as names, dates, places, titles, ISBN numbers, data strings, and so on, to turn up a number of matching entries. The authors provide detailed information about the most commonly used search engines, including AltaVista, Deja News, Excite, Hotbot, Infoseek, Lycos, and Yahoo. They will provide readers with the knowledge they need to select and use the ones that are right for them!

     Readers are walked through the use of each search engine in a concise and straightforward manner. Often ignored advanced search features are covered so that readers can appreciate the full potential use of each powerful search tool they have access to. Screenshots of each search engine site and fill-in form are provided to make data entry a relatively easy process. The authors discuss a number of basic search tool methods, tips, and techniques readers will find useful as well. A chapter covering 25 specialized search engines and a fold-out quick reference guide at the back of the book provides quick access to useful online information.

     Readers should appreciate the fact that this book deals exclusively with the use of search engines. There is no need for them to thumb through larger books to find the specific information they are looking for. The material in this book has been clearly presented. Readers will have no trouble at all following the instruction provided. The use of this book will result in a more effective and disciplined use of the information superhighway for whatever purpose they have in mind. Brush up on your own search skills. Make use of this book today! Highly recommended!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Search Engine Guide, August 1, 2002

By	Todd Hawley (San Francisco CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Search Engines for the World Wide Web, Third Edition (Paperback)

I spend quite a bit of time (much more than I should) doing web searches, due to the amount of hits I get when I look for a particular subject. This book helps to make web searches much less time-consuming and more efficient. One thing I learned early on in this book is that "not all search egnines are created equal," that some engines are better suited to specific searches than others.

I also liked the chapter of the book that discussed "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Web searchers." Among them being to "use the best tool for the job" (the best search engine for your specific search as there as numerous specific search engiens available), choosing unique keywords, and to use multiple search engines (to increase your chances of finding what you want, especially if your search involves a seemingly obscure topic). Sometimes "metasearch engines" can be helpful as well.

The book concentrates on what it considers the "Big Six Search Engines:" AltaVista, Google, HotBot, Lycos, Northern Light, and Yahoo. Each of these engines have specific chapters devoted to them which explain in step by step instructions how to do a basic search and advanced search to narrow your specific search. There are also "quick-reference tables" for basic and advanced searches for each of these engines.

Subsequent chapters touch upon other search engines, like Excite, Nestcape Search, and "specialized engines, like Deja (now owned by Google), Topica, and a Business search engine called Zip2. The last chapter discusses still more specialized search engines. I never knew so many of them existed!

A very informative book for anyone who "surfs the Web" looking for specific information.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent way to find your way around on the web, August 15, 1999

By	Blaine Greenfield "eclectic reader" (Belle Meade, NJ) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

you will find this book extremely helfpul, even if an experienced user of web search engines . . . glosbrenner delivers--again!!!