The book understands it's goals and has a clear purpose. How to get people to understand, and accomplish their goals on the site. As suggested by the name, the book is to the point and doesn't waste time.
This book is more about the history of interaction design rather than a book with easily applicable lessons.
There are takeaway lessons from the interviews with experts. However there are no theories with explanations laid out for you.
The most interesting aspect of the book is that it's filled with insights from designers and decision makers themselves. Moreover, the book comes with a DVD with segments from the actual interviews.
The book covers many of the most significant individuals and events in the history of interaction design, from an insider's lens, with the much of the reasoning behind the design decisions made described in detail.
This book isn't focused on recent trends or properties specific to a certain field, and thus applies to all design. It provides a broad view and allows focusing on the fundamental goals of the user experience, rather than being limited in scope.
Whatever that's being designed, for whatever purpose, it always has the same goal of being used by someone. This book is focused on that interaction and on why users make mistakes. These principles still apply directly to web design, when design leads users to make mistakes, it will ultimately drive users away.
It's quite a long read, there is a lot of material to be covered, if you compare it to similar but more concise books, like The Non-Designer's Design Book.
This book challenges the reader to think about the design of all objects, and their user-friendliness/usability. It is not specifically targeted towards web designers, but will help web designers think in a way that benefits users.
The writing style of this book can make it difficult to read. Long walls of text, references to terms that are never defined, and a lack of captions. There is a lack of visual examples, and the small font makes it easy for a reader to lose their place.
Throughout the book, typographic practices are explained along with their historical significance. Many terms and practices in typography are steeped in history, and learning it helps understand both the rationale, and significance of their adoption, and as a result, what role they play in modern typography.
The first edition of About Face was published in 1995, and has been referenced in a variety of work since then. It's in-depth coverage of of interaction design make it a well known reference book in the industry.
The author, Alan Cooper, is a pioneer of interaction design.
The fourth edition has had an issue with binding quality. There has been many reports of the book falling apart when opened or after a very short period of time.
About Face takes an in-depth look at a breadth of topics relevant to interaction design. It covers everything from personal development and psychology to methods and further resources.
It's a large book at 720 pages for the fourth edition, and packed with information.
The author takes an in depth look at "cognitive engineering" and applying it to software design (ex. How users form habits when interacting with software).
The Human Interface can be a confusing read for a variety of reasons.
The author is frequently referencing one of his projects, Canon Cat, even when there is no beneficial/relevant reason to do so.
There are some contradictions throughout the book, and plenty of negativity towards the studies he mentions (however, he does not often use studies to back up his own claims).
The book does not have illustrations or screenshots, making it difficult to follow at times.
This book is most beneficial for beginners just starting out with web design and UX as it's not a resource with much depth. Someone with an understanding of design essentials may find this book fairly repetitive and common sense.