This ambitious book comes with a strong pedigree. Author John Battelle was a founder of The Industry Standard and then one of the original editors of Wired, two magazines which helped shape our early perceptions of the wild world of the Internet. Battelle clearly drew from his experience and contacts in writing The Search. In addition to the sure-handed historical perspective and easy familiarity with such dot-com stalwarts as AltaVista, Lycos, and Excite, he speckles his narrative with conversational asides from a cast of fascinating characters, such Google's founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Yahoo's, Jerry Yang and David Filo; key executives at microsoft and different VC firms on the famed Sandhill road; and numerous other insiders, particularly at the company which currently sits atop the search world, Google.

The Search is not exactly the corporate history of Google. At the book's outset, Battelle specifically indicates his desire to understand what he calls the cultural anthropology of search, and to analyze search engines' current role as the "database of our intentions"--the repository of humanity's curiosity, exploration, and expressed desires. Interesting though that beginning is, though, Battelle's story really picks up speed when he starts dishing inside scoop on the darling business story of the decade, Google. To Battelle's credit, though, he doesn't stop just with historical retrospective: the final part of his book focuses on the potential future directions of Google and its products' development. In what Battelle himself acknowledges might just be a "digital fantasy train", he describes the possibility that Google will become the centralizing platform for our entire lives and quotes one early employee on the weightiness of Google's potential impact: "Sometimes I feel like I am on a bridge, twenty thousand feet up in the air. If I look down I'm afraid I'll fall. I don't feel like I can think about all the implications."

Some will shrug at such words; after all, similar hype has accompanied other technologies and other companies before. Many others, though, will search Battelle's story for meaning--and fast. --Peter Han

From Publishers Weekly
Rather than write a book strictly about the rise of Google as a business, technology journalist Battelle targets his research on the concept of Internet search, beginning the book with a discussion of an abstract idea he terms the "Database of Intentions," defined as the sum total of all queries that pour into search engines daily, revealing the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of our culture. Though most of the book is devoted to the search engine giant (which Battelle reports corners 51 percent of the search engine market), the author also includes chapters on "Search, Before Google" and the "Who, What, Where, Why, When. And How (much)" of search. Battelle is at his best when describing the creation of Google, especially through the yin-yang personalities of its founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and in describing the company's culture. Though Battelle's descriptions of Internet search technology can get too technical for readers without a computer science background, the book is a deeply researched and nimbly reported look at how search has defined the Internet and how it will continue to be a tremendous reflection of culture.
Copyright © Reed business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Chapters cover the fundamentals: the work environment and help resources; making selections (with the wand, lasso, and marquee tools); using layers and masks; working with the pen tool and other vector graphics techniques; retouching and color correcting; selected effects like hand coloring; color-management issues; and creating images for print or the Web. Areas new to version 7 include working with the File Browser, using the new paint engine to create custom brushes and patterns, and working with the healing brush and cloning stamp.

All lesson project files and fonts are on the companion CD-ROM. Each lesson begins by outlining what will be learned and how long the project should take, and ends with Review Q&A. The color section not only shows finished artwork for several projects, but also includes some useful reference pages: a toolbox overview (with color illustrations of what each tool does), a layer blending mode sampler, and a set of images helpful in color management.

In addition to the above topics, the book also shows how to create slices and optimize images in both Photoshop and ImageReady, make rollovers and animations in ImageReady, and use droplets for batch processing. You may not become a power user after these tutorials, but you'll certainly have a firm working knowledge of Photoshop upon which to build expert skills. --Angelynn Grant

Book Description
When it comes to digital imaging software, Adobe Photoshop has long set the standard. Thus, when a new version of the popular program appears, designers tend to stand up and take notice--hen get down to the serious business of learning about it! And for that, there's no better place to turn than the book from the people behind the product: Adobe Press' Adobe Photoshop 7.0 Classroom in a Book.

Using the same style of self-paced instruction employed in the best-selling previous edition, this comprehensive set of Photoshop lessons provides everything you need to dive into the world of print, Web, and graphic design with Photoshop 7. Completely revised to cover all of Photoshop 7's new features (including the new Healing Brush, color correction commands, and file management tools), the book starts with an introductory tour of the software and then progresses on through 16 lessons, covering everything from Photoshop's interface to more complex topics like color management, Web graphics, and photo retouching. You'll find step-by-step instructions for a variety of projects (from beginning to advanced) and Review questions at the end of each chapter to reinforce what you've learned. Easy-to-use project files on the accompanying CD-ROM complete the package.

This book is not about "fixing it in Photoshop." It's about how you, the serious nature photographer, can use technology to enhance your art. Rob Sheppard sees Photoshop not as an eraser for mistakes and the effects of careless shooting, but as an artist's tool, one that assists you in the craft of producing art from your digital camera. He shows you how to use Photoshop CS2 to extend tonal range, remove color haze, correct lens distortions, create multi-frame panoramas, and so much more—all to reveal the work of art you knew was there all along.

• Learn to apply Photoshop techniques to the unique requirements of landscape and nature photography
• Be aware of correct exposure when shooting for Photoshop
• Use layers to enhance images and correct tonality and color for optimum images
• Discover a better way of dodging and burning
• Understand midtones and manage color correction with an eye to the finished product
• Process images twice in camera Raw for better shadow and highlight detail
• Explore how Photoshop CS2 can support proven techniques used by the masters of traditional nature photography

Photoshop offers great power for controlling color so you can get natural, realistic colors that best express what you see in nature

Unsharp Mask is unmasked so that you can get the most from this powerful sharpening tool

Utilize the best methods of black-and-white conversion

About The Author
Rob Sheppard is Editor of Outdoor Photographer and PCPhoto magazines. An accomplished photographer, he was an early devotee of applying digital technology to photographic art. Rob's work has appeared in National Geographic, and he is the author of Adobe camera Raw For Digital photographers Only, also published by Wiley.