The Extreme Searcher's Internet Handbook: A Guide for the Serious Searcher

The Internet offers vast amounts of information from reliable to questionable, and wading through all the findings can be daunting. librarian Hock's (Yahoo! To the Max; The Traveler's Web: An Extreme Searcher's Guide to Travel Resources on the Internet) work offers readers a wealth of tips to aid in faster and more effective searching. This revised update of the popular work contains recent additions and includes information on social networking, e.g., LinkedIn and Twitter, specialized sites, and improved features. The ten chapters range from "Basics for the Serious Searcher" to "Your Own Place on the Web: Participating and Publishing." He begins with a discussion of the early Internet, including a time line and a short list of Internet-history resources. Interesting tidbits are highlighted in sidebars, while numerous screenshots add interest. A chart in Chapter 4 comparing the features of four popular search engines is more confusing than clarifying. Chapter 7 deals with the wealth of images and audio and video files available to the public. Several beneficial websites for storing and sharing are included. Chapter 9 provides "Five Tips for Buying Safely," reminding readers that if "they follow precautions online purchases should be reasonably secure." While the majority of the handbook covers using the Internet to find information, Chapter 10 focuses on providing material to others, looking at blogs, podcasting, and building your own web presence. Students will appreciate the resource's clear writing style and its practical suggestions for evaluating the quality of websites.