Rating: 
Summary: A must have in a web designer's toolbox
Review: Usability studies are your friend.I'm somewhat of anoldtimer in web years. I've been building sites & online appfrontends for 5 years now (at the same e-commerce company... gasp!) and I think I've absorbed more from Jakob Neilsen that any other computer/internet author. When I first started following Neilsen on his site...a few years ago, I was a bit wary. I wanted to protect my design, as most would, and I can tell you now... incorporating his material, learning from it, will only make your site that much better. It also arms you with the facts behind proper usability design, which can be a great thing when it comes time to defend your work to the Execusphere. Buy it, read it, breathe it.
Rating: 
Summary: A very, very good basis for a constructive web site
Review: There are a LOT of books that take you through the dos and don'ts of web site design. As a web designer I tend to take these with a grain of salt - one guy's opinion may not necesarily translate into good web strategy. But this book seems to know common sense from personal opinion. Nielson goes through tried and true design and architecture practices, in a relatively structured and logical fashion. At times a little wordy, but helpful. This is definitely a good book to accompany Siegel's "Killer Web Sites". With these two on your shelf you're definitely a step ahead of the rest.
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Summary: Kicks some serious Booty!
Review: This book kicks some serious booty! After having only read the first 100 pages of the book I'm starting to see what he's talking about when he discusses web usability and how it relates to sites that are developed today. I think this book is perfect for any web developer. However, the only bad thing I would have to mention about this book are the amount of pictures...which aren't bad...but I'd rather sacrifice the pictures with more content...that's just me. Anyways...the book rocks (so far) and is definently worth getting your mits on.
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Summary: Essential Reading for Professionals and Hopefuls
Review: Following Nielsen's suggestions to the letter, one would end up with the Web equivalent of the McDonald's cheeseburger...mushy and bland. But--also like that ubiquitous cheeseburger--always predictable, accessible and non-threatening. It's just an unfortuante truth that this is what it takes for a high-volume, low-maintenance commercial site, trying to support and attract existing and would-be customers or readers...every awkward point in a site's design is another potential to lose the customer's interest and/or loyalty. Go with the safe bet and they won't be disappointed. If you're building the next UPS, CNN or Amazon.com, read this book and make it your Bible. If, on the other hand, you just design personal web sites for fun, read what Nielsen has to say, but pick and choose as you like. Several places in the book, the author points out that his suggestions aren't optimal (such as using default link colors, or the use of a 'shopping cart' paradigm), but are simply the safe implementations that the user has always come to expect. It's only by bending The Rules now that we'll find new and better paradigms that will become the standard safe bet designs of the future.
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Summary: Layout left much to be desired
Review: The content of the book was very useful, but the paragraphs were often broken up by up to five pages of graphics which really made it hard for the book to flow correctly. It seemed that Jakob Nielsen did a lot of finger pointing without suggesting any solutions.
Rating:
Summary: Incredibly Useful and Current
Review: Neilsen's breakdown of content issues, page design, audience needs, and other usability considerations makes this a highly readable, easy-to-digest book. His ideas are easy to apply both to new and redesigns. I appreciated the many graphical examples and screenshots that went with his points, and was happy that he took the time to explain major issues in fine detail. About the only thing I wouldn't take from this book is the take on intranets, which I found organized unintuitively. But hey, we all have our strengths and weaknesses. . .
Rating:
Summary: The best book on Web Design
Review: I've tried them all, this is the absolute best book on Usability. Finally a good Web book! Jakob gets to the point and answers almost all the questions I've had, even on the little things. I'm surprised this book is not worth a lot more because tons of work went into it. There are so many books on the web lacking of communication. This book is useful and usable. It takes a step out of the common since area and into good tips that have reason, meaning and that make your site better. If this doesn't do it for you, then stop looking because it's the only thing out there right now. And to top it off, it was released in Y2000! Get this book!
Rating:
Summary: Classic book, does not need a review.
Review: This book is a classic, and also a bestseller on its area, like the Design Patterns book. Its awesome value for money, and very beautiful with many coloured web pages reproduced. I am glad the web is changing in this direction. I recommend it to the whole company. I wish companies gave it as Christmas gift to employees generating content to the web.
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Summary: Book for the whole team
Review: This is an excellent book that I would recommend for anyone involved with development of web content. This includes not only the technical person laying out the actual web page, but the managers responsible for certain segments (e.g., tech support for your company), and all the way up to a CEO who wants the company web site to be an integral part of the business. The book covers issues about how to design an individual page. The importance of color choices for anchors, screen real estate, older browsers, and slow connections. To backup his positions, the author constantly cites studies and includes statistical information. The author then steps back from the individual page and looks at an entire site. He touches on consistency, metaphors, and navigation. Oh.. and *content* There is no substitute. The author also has chapters on a wide range of other issues such as designing specifically for internal Intranet use, international considerations, and the future of the web (i.e., the computer with its crisp 17" monitor may not be the primary device for accessing the web). I only had two problems with this book. First, I came away with a wealth of ideas, but I did not of the knowledge to implement them. This book needs a companion book describing the "how to". Second, I hated the binding and to a lesser extent the basic layout. I found this moderately amusing for a book about "usability". If you are involved at any level with web development, this book should be on your shelf... *after* you have read it.
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Summary: The Usability is very important
Review: This is a very nice book. It has a lots of real examples and Jakob Nielsen is very clever to put the points clear. The usabilty of the web sites and more specific in the web services is a key component. The Philip Greenspun and Tufte books are also very good sources for good design and clean architectures. The SIMPLICITY is BETTER. Use the KISS principle.
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