Rating: 
Summary: A bookshelf essential
Review: A quick way to jump start ideas at the beginning of a new layout. The book assembles a variety of sample layouts in categories such as: page borders, page partitioning, visual entry points, word relationships, text layout systems, ordering, and pictorial treatments. To inexpensive not to own!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent choice
Review: Excellent reference book for those people who unfamiliar with graphic design.
Rating:
Summary: A Book that goes where I go!
Review: I am continually doing ads and sometimes my mind just can't think anymore. This book is wonderful. If you go through the book and look at their designs you find that they are kind of Plain Jane. But if you start mixing and matching the designs you'll notice that you can come up with some really unique and awesome ads. I highly recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Collection of layouts
Review: I knew what I was buying when I purchased this book - a collection of layouts. However, as an aspiring graphic designer I haven't really found the book of much use. When you design, you need to have the content first, and the book doesn't acknowledge this. It achieves what its title promises - "recipes for faster... layouts". Whether they are better is debatable. Indeed, it is an eye opener, but there is more to good designs than merely aesthetics and cookie-cutter layouts.
Rating: 
Summary: Great for reference...
Review: I like this book, alot. It doesn't have any wordy explanations behind the techniques, just various ways to design common elements. People complain that the book is too basic, but the purpose of the book is to be used as reference and to combine several of the techniques into one design. I think the simplicity of the designs are important because you are not distracted by a pretty photo or bright colors, all your attention is on layout. This book is a great guide to generate ideas for your designs, buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Nice Book if you know nothing about design
Review: I think this book is for people that don't have any experience on graphic design whatsoever. It doesn't explain a thing about layout, why to use this or that layout, what that layout represents, etc... It's just blank pages with variations of the same concept. Though to be fair the book can start a tiny little spark here and then. The only thing I was surprised of was the quality of the paper used. My advice to the publisher: invest more in the content (or invest at all, maybe some text or explanation would be nice) and less in the stock paper. If you are looking for a nice book about layout I strongly recommend you buy Jim Krause: 'Layout Index' (That or any from the "Index" collection)
Rating: 
Summary: For the uninspired...
Review: I was eager to get this book after reading good reviews...so I was surprised to find there isnt one line of text in the entire book, just a collection of uninspired layouts anybody could conceive if forced at gunpoint. If you want to get ahead in design, this is not the path.
Rating:
Summary: Not what I expected
Review: I was expecting a book full of color pictures with new, cutting-edge design ideas. Instead it reminds me of the back of some clip art book, where it shows small 1.5 inch square pictures of design ideas. The ideas, if you can call them that, are extremely basic and out-dated. The book is structured into five sections: Structuring Space, Orienting on the Page, Text Systems, Ordering Information, and Pictoral Considerations. While there are a few ideas, most I wouldn't use, especially since I am more into web design. I would not recommend this book and wish I would have spent the money elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely useful
Review: I've had this book for a while. It's loaded with interesting design ideas for all manner of print projects, and many of the designs would be applicable to Internet pages as well.
Rating:
Summary: Great Layout Index Reference
Review: If you know what to expect you will not be disappointed with this book, unlike some of the other reviewers. Graphic Design Cookbook is an extremely useful tool for graphic designers looking for layout ideas. Rather than sorting through dozens of graphic design books to get ideas, this book has sections for every aspect of page layout placement including: page numbers, paragraph placement, titles, and MUCH MORE!!
This book has virtually NO writing or explanations in it. This reference should be used only for visual layout placement ideas, and not for concrete explanations. I use this book whenever I need to make flyers, print ads, or any other print materials. EXTREMELY HELPFUL source and for this cheap cheap price, you can't beat the resourcefulness of this little book.
Another great resource that is very similiar to this book is Jim Krause's "Layout Index."
| 
