Another HCI classic, pointing out the obviously broken things of everyday life (e.g. poor doors and taps, as well as the odd nuclear power station control room), and how errors are often blamed on people, when the problem may really lie with the design of the object they are dealing with. It works with interesting topics, and is well-presented, but somehow feels a little flat - as if the efforts of the author to improve usability have lead to a rather homogenous and slow book. On the other hand, it has dated very well for a book written in the late 80s.
Posted 2004-08-12.