Reviews of "The Joy of Search"
From around the world
Jennifer Bartlett writing in the Oct/Nov 2019 issue of Online Searcher:
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"Daniel M. Russell has a passion for research, and he wants to share it with you. A search industry expert and senior research science for search quality at Google, Russell has written an immensely engaging book that aims to help everyone, not only information professionals, learn how to go beyond basic word and phrase searching in Google ( or any other search engine) to truly take advantage of the powerful search tools at our disposal. He believes that learning how to research should join reading, writing, and arithmetic as the basic literacy skills that everyone needs to learn...
Russell’s writing style is clear and conversational, and he has made sure to present his topics in an interesting, engaging way... Russell has fulfilled [these] requirements in this fascinating, entertaining, and immensely useful book...
This book is required reading for anyone wanting to take their research seriously, whether they are information professionals or non-LIS searchers. It is a terrific resource for information literacy, reference work, and LIS education."
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Dr. Rose Hayden-Smith writes in her review of JOS that
"...Essentially, this book explains how to frame your search queries so they will yield the best information for your purposes. It covers not only Google, but Google Earth, Google Scholar, Wikipedia, and Wikimedia. I was so eager to read this book that I pre-ordered it. I read it pretty quickly, and am now working through it chapter by chapter (applying the methods to some research questions I have for a new creative project I'm working on - more on that in a future blog post).
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As someone who has spent a good portion of her professional life researching online and in archives (which are increasingly digitized and online), I wish I would have had this book years ago...
She goes on to say:
So. Many. Tips. And. So. Much. Good. Information.
Helps you realize the limits of online research (i.e., when you really need to do field research); and
Devotes an entire chapter to asking great and important questions.
A takeaway for me? This is probably a desktop essential for most of us..."
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Jill O'Neill writes in The Scholarly Kitchen,
"..His book is both lively and informative. One hopes that some set of college syllabi will refer students to this text as an advisable addition to the learning experience."
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Sara Zetterfall, writing in ALA Cognotes (6/20/19),
“You can and must know how to search deeply, effectively, and precisely,” he said, providing a personal example that involved the internet, in-person archival searches, and interpersonal interaction. Through this example, where he ultimately found his answer by having a conversation with the archivist, he highlighted that human connections remain a crucial information source to teach and use alongside technology..."
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Chad Comello, writing in BookListOnline (8/23/19),
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"Russell illustrates the steps and bunny trails he makes along the way, using screenshots and his actual search terms to guide the reader to a satisfying answer. He concludes each chapter with several helpful lessons and tools related to his research journey, whether it’s Google Street View, the “site:” operator, or Google Books’ “search in this book” function. Illuminating and gloriously wide ranging, the book leverages Russell’s expertise to create a practical resource for power searchers and rookie Googlers alike that’s also a pleasure to read. Though, given the sheer immensity of information Russell wades through, it’s best taken a chapter at a time."
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