Reader reviews

Strong content, uneven pacing. I would still recommend it.

I bought this on a whim after seeing it mentioned in a forum thread, and I am glad I did. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. The explanations are careful without being condescending, which is a difficult balance to strike. Four stars, and I suspect a second edition could easily push it to five.

Mixed feelings. The good parts are genuinely good; the rest is forgettable.

This is the third book I have read on user experience this year, and it is comfortably the best of them. The book rewards careful reading. Skimming it would be a mistake. A couple of chapters felt like they could have been merged, but that is a minor complaint. The balance between theory and practice is well judged; neither side dominates. Fine, but there are stronger books on the same subject if you look around.

Exactly the book I needed. Straight to the point and genuinely useful.

I came to this book already familiar with the basics, and it still had plenty to offer. A few of the examples could be more realistic, but the underlying points come across clearly. There is a section near the end that ties several earlier ideas together in a way I had not seen before. One of those books that pays for itself within the first few chapters. Highly recommended.

Almost excellent. A second edition could easily push it to five stars.

There is a particular kind of technical book that is dense without being difficult, and this is one of them. The chapters on graphics are the strongest — the examples are stripped down but complete, and I could follow along without constant guessing. There is a section near the end that ties several earlier ideas together in a way I had not seen before. Worth picking up if you already have the basics. Set realistic expectations and you will get a lot out of it.

A worthwhile addition to my shelf, with realistic expectations.

I picked this up after getting stuck on a project and it turned out to be exactly the right book at the right time. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. The author clearly knows the subject deeply and has thought hard about how to teach it. Four stars, and I suspect a second edition could easily push it to five.

Good value. Not perfect, but I would buy another book from this author.

A colleague recommended this and I can see why. It does something that few technical books manage: it respects the reader's time. Some of the material is available elsewhere, but rarely presented this clearly. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. Some terminology is introduced without much ceremony; I had to look a few things up along the way. Four stars, and I suspect a second edition could easily push it to five.