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"Years ago I was cycle-touring with my sons in France and we came across a church in Avranches that held in a special display case a skull. I had forgotten the details so my first search on Google Books pulled up the story of Saint-Aubert and how he allegedly came to have a hole in his skull. The story was found in the Theosophical Quarterly Magazine 1927-1928, a source I would have never likely found other than through Google Books. Pretty darn cool."
– Jerry, Retired Teacher, Portland, OR

"So far, the gem of the Google crime collection is Hanging in Chains, a book by Albert Hartshorne published in 1891. Until Google digitized the book, you'd be hard-pressed to find a copy for less than a hundred bucks. Now it's free. I can hardly believe our collective luck at having these amazing old books, all of them out of print for generations, free, online, and text-searchable. Wow."
Source

"I think it's a great idea that Google is scanning books of publishers so that more texts can be available online. I have two preschool–age children and we are passionate about books. It would be so wonderful if I could read some or all of these books online to decide whether I want to buy them. Publishers need to understand that offering text online will only HELP, not hinder, their sales, for no online experience can ever equal the joy of curling up on your couch with a good book...or the joy of having your child on your lap as you read."
– Lucy, Website Editor, Palo Alto, CA

"This is the service I have been waiting for my whole life! I'm a research-aholic and I've used Google since the day I first heard about it. But Google Books takes research to a whole new, lightning-fast level. Thanks for continuing to advance the frontiers of information sharing."
– Chris, Technical Writer, Ashburn, VA

"A search on my grandmother, Margaret Woodwell Johnston, revealed information from Not Just Any Medical School: The Science, Practice, and Teaching of Medicine at the University of Michigan 1850-1941 about her work as a chemist in the laboratory of Lewis Harry Newburgh. There I saw that she may have worked with my grandfather Franklin Johnston who was a patient of Dr. Newburgh, and I also learned that she worked with Newburgh for more than twenty years and her 'name was usually first in Newburgh's papers and sometimes alone on others.' Impressed by my grandmother's remarkable professional accomplishments (she was a woman working in academia before 1941 when this book ends) I decided to buy a copy of the book. Now I have it at home full of these tidbits of family history. With the book in hand, I discovered that its printed index was not as good as the Google search. The print version missed mentions that the electronic one makes apparent, thus another benefit of the program. Because of the depth of the indexing provided by Google I found (and purchased) a book I otherwise would never have found."
– Rob, Executive Director, Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship, New York, NY

"I am a senior who became visually impaired a few years ago. Before, I was a voracious reader and researcher, but am no longer able to read books at full speed. ZoomText, a marvelous software program, and Google allow me to reenter the world. Few people know about your vision and the details. Note this: Google is great."
– Elaine, Port Moody, British Columbia, Canada

"I heard about Google's additional features at a genealogical society meeting, so I decided to try out Google Books by checking the names of a couple of ancestors. The first search produced a photograph of a relative I had never seen before – I immediately ordered a copy of the book it was in. The second search turned up several references to an ancestor in historical works I would probably never have found without Google Books."
– Kay, Attorney, San Diego, CA

"I gave Google Books a test run, and came across a fascinating result when I searched for my own name 'MacManus.' The first search result was a book by Stephen Fox called The Mirror Makers: A History of American Advertising and Its Creators. I'm off to go buy that Stephen Fox book ;-)"
– Richard, Web Analyst, Wellington, New Zealand

"My family found out a couple of years ago that we were descended from a small aristocratic Scottish family. By using Google Books, I've been able to discover many references to my ancestors in 18th and 19th century books that are not accessible in Australian libraries. I even found a record of my family tree back to King Alfred the Great! Google Books makes it a real possibility for us to write a comprehensive and interesting family history!"
– Jean, Melbourne, Australia

"I tested Google Books by typing in my maiden name. Wow! I had no idea that my uncle was mentioned in a book – The Book of Renee by Renn Martin – that he built an x-ray machine, and that the author of the book wondered where he was today and wished him well! I passed that information on to him – I am sure he has already bought the book by now!"
– Kathleen, Pleasant Hill, CA

"I used Google Books for the first time today, and have already ordered a copy of a book for our company library. I would never have found this book, or been able to determine if it was worth ordering, without Google Books."
– Kirsten, Public Policy Communications Analyst, Bear, DE

"I like Google Books because of its chronological breadth, topical breadth, and linguistic breadth. I'm a medical language consultant and researcher, and much of my work requires depth in chronology, topics, and language, so I need all this power. You include books that appeared centuries ago. Your range of topics and languages boosts creative thought. One of the gems I'm studying (as noted above) is Joseph Raphson's A Mathematical Dictionary, published in 1702. What a linguistic delight this is!"
– Janet, PhD, Medical Language Consultant, Westlake OH

"I am a system administrator in Linux and I am always looking for new good books with a lot of informative advanced information for my needs. Being able to read a few pages of the book is great; it tells me if the book is any good or not – now I can do this using your service instead of going around book shops and struggling with the lack of Linux books. Thanks!"
– Stephen, System Administrator, UK

"My grandfather was a songwriter in the '20s and '30s, and a few years ago I started collecting vintage sheet music of his songs. When it first launched, I searched on Google Books for my grandfather's name, hoping to see some sheet music. What I found was a listing in a reference book that catalogued old sheet music, writers, resell values and even some pictures of the covers. I wouldn't have even thought that this type of reference book existed. I was so excited that I bought the book on Amazon and sat down with it for hours, going through all the sheet music I had collected and highlighting the entries in the book. It's one of those things that I never would have even thought to go into a bookstore to find, because I didn't know that type of book existed until I found it on Google Books."
– Debbie, Marketing Director, San Francisco, CA

"When Google Books first came out, I knew my wishlist of books would soon be miles long. As I began using it, I started having even more fun finding information on any manner of things. For my blog, GeneticsAndHealth.com, I started a weekly series of genetics quotes that feature a quote from a book on any topic mentioning genes, DNA, or genetics. I'll type in search requests like: [stupid genes], [humor genes], [happy DNA], etc. The results have been thought-provoking, hilarious, and surprising. Google Books makes reading fun and piques my interest in esoteric books that I may never have discovered otherwise. Thank you for a great service!"
– Hsien-Hsien, Writer, London, UK