I read a ton of books and blogs over the past several months while I was preparing for my interview to be a Product Manager position at Google. Since I got the job, I’d like to do what I can to thank the authors by listing their books here and hoping you’ll check them out. I am NOT providing any interview tips or reflections on the interview process… just book reviews. Sorry.

The order below reflects the books I think will be most interesting to a wide audience…

“In the Plex” by Steven Levy

“In the Plex” is an all-encompassing look at Google’s culture, its history, and the motivations of its founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. I really loved the book and it made me even more excited about the company while I was preparing for my interviews. Importantly, the book is an authorized account and most of the information comes directly from Levy’s experiences at the Googleplex and his interviews with hundreds of Googlers. This might be a bit too long for the casual Google fan, but it is very well-written, has lots of interesting stories, and is definitely worth the time if you’re at all curious about the company and its unique culture.

“The Facebook Effect” by David Kirkpatrick

Many people I speak with are not aware that Facebook and Google are in fact serious competitors. They both compete for your attention on the web and make nearly all their revenue off the advertising that shows up on the pages you see. Since I’m just reviewing books here, I’ll avoid a more lengthy discussion of this topic. Kirkpatrick does for Facebook what “In the Plex” does for Google. I enjoyed reading about the meteoric rise of the world’s most popular social network and learning more about the motivations of its founder, Mark Zuckerberg. I was really struck by the contrast between the cultures of Google and Facebook.

“Start With Why” by Simon Sinek

“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” This is the most important sentence in the book and Sinek’s TED talk (which I’ve watched five times already). Sinek proposes that companies and people who are successful are driven by WHY they are doing the work they do. As such, their marketing and advertising reflects this passion and so many people who buy their products or join their causes do so because they connect deeply with the company. Early adopters will deal with problems in beta or first version products if they love the company; however, if they are only buying the product because of its technical specifications, they will not have the same tolerance. Sinek provides a number of great examples (Apple, Tivo, the Wright brothers, Martin Luther King). I really connected with this book and Sinek’s talk because I’ve always been driven by what I’m working on and work harder as a result.

“Personality Not Included” by Rohit Bhargava

Please see my post for a full review of “Personality Not Included“.

“Inspired: How to Create Great Products Customers Love” by Marty Cagan

This one will be of interest to Product Managers, entrepreneurs, or people in similar positions. I really enjoyed the book, which contained a lot of the content from the Silicon Valley Product Group blog. So, check out the blog and if you like what you read, buy the book.

Other Helpful Books

I read several other books during the interview process and over the course of the prior year that have helped me. Some of these include:

• “The Second Coming of Steve Jobs” by Alan Deutschman
• “Word of Mouth Marketing” by Andy Sernovitz
• “Cracking the Coding Interview” by Gayle Laakman McDowell
• “The Google Resume” by Gayle Laakman McDowell
• “Selling the Dream” by Guy Kawasaki

Some Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoy these books, and thank you again to all the authors. If you read this hoping for insights into Google’s interview process, I’m sure you’re disappointed.

In general, my advice to anyone interviewing at any company, is to do whatever you can to learn everything about the company. I’ve interviewed many people in my past positions, both on-site and at career fairs, and I can honestly say that the people who’ve done their homework before speaking with me have a much better shot at moving forward in the interview process. Best of luck!