Rating: 
Summary: Excellent for Designing
Review: I found about this book through Dr. Nielsen's web site. Afterreading through some of his columns and noting how sensible and goodhis advice is, I purchased it and cannot help but say that it is a great reference tool for web design.Essentially, it takes all the common wisdom that has been collected over the years and compiles into one book -- I especially appreciated the numerous screenshots and examples that Dr. Nielsen described and evaluated. An excellent book for web design, and it makes a great pair to Philip and Alex's Guide to Web Publishing by Philip Greenspun, an excellent book covering the backend of web design. END
Rating: 
Summary: Its ok
Review: Apart from alienating me with with the claim that books will gradually dissapear, this is an alright book. The examples are clear and concise. However, he is an enginner at heart and that shows in his writing style, i.e., he is fundementally not a good writer.
Rating:
Summary: Buy it, use it, benefit from it.
Review: This is an excellent book. If you are involved with web design, creation, construction; this is a must read. Jakob writes very clearly. He provides, in a very simply and clear way, his views on different design alternatives, that are backed-up with rational reasons that you will find insightful. Buy this book, use it, and reap the benefits. It will help everyone using your website.
Rating:
Summary: "Must have" Web Design Information
Review: I'm new to the web design arena, having done all my work in typical software design. This book provides an excellent foundation in what's important to web design: usability. If you're looking for ways to create a super high-tech site with lots of bells and whistles, you should probably look elsewhere. If you're looking to create a very user-friendly site that works well for everyone, this book is for you!
Rating: 
Summary: Not what I expected ...
Review: I totally agree with all of Jakob Nielsen's ideas on usability. However the book itself is really only a copy of everything you can find on his website and more surprisingly, the web version is much more readable. The book is not very amusing to read, to many web page screenshots tend to brake your lecture process and force you into constant page flipping.
Rating:
Summary: verbose
Review: Exceptionally verbose. While there may be some redeeming value to all the case studies mentioned, you could get the same results from the authors web site, and save the bucks.
Rating:
Summary: Bible for web usability professionals
Review: A must read for HCI, web developers, interface developers, usability engineers, etc.
Rating: 
Summary: Virtually useless.
Review: The problem with a 'common sense' approach to usability is twofold: 1)The design suggestions are solely the author's subjective opinions and have little empirical data to back them up. 2)The suggestions that are well established enough to indeed be 'common sense' are common knowledge as well. It's not really news to anyone that a Web page should be visually simple, rather than visually complex. In short, if you have any background in the field at all, you'll mistrust many of the guidelines and already know the rest.
Rating:
Summary: The Business will love you ('cos the users love you)
Review: All business architects doing web development should read this book so as to nag on developers about how terrible the site designs are. All web developers should read this book so as not to be nagged at.
Rating:
Summary: Common Sense - What a Concept!
Review: Imagine someone approaching the subject of web design with genuine common sense. Neilsen has done just that here. His basic premise -- that simplicity and usability are the ultimate criteria in web design -- is backed up with statistics and well-chosen examples. He also makes the refreshingly sensible point that user-friendly website design is the key to successful web business -- a fact that he logically extends to intranet and extranet design too. I found many of my core beliefs on the subject affirmed, and more than a few new insights. If more websites applied the principles discussed here, all our cyber lives would be easier. No other book or web source that I know of is as comprehensive or as well organized -- although I do wish he used fewer side bars to make points that should have been covered by his main text. I look forward to the promised sequel (on how to apply these theories). In the meantime, this is essential reading for anyone with a serius interest in enlightened web design.
| 
