I read these books a while ago. The following is essentially the notes that I jotted down to express my opinion about them.
Microsoft ASP.NET and AJAX: Architecting Web Applications (PRO-Developer)
gives a semi-theoretical description of all aspects of Ajax with poor flow.
ASP.NET MVC 2 in Actionis a very poorly written book. It is worth reading if you are interested in MVC Contrib of which the author is a major contributor.
Inside XMLis still a good book even it was published in 2001 and a bit too light on schema. XML: A Beginner's Guide: Go Beyond the Basics with Ajax, XHTML, XPath 2.0, XSLT 2.0 and XQueryis truly a great book for XML beginners. The basic concepts of XML could not be explained any better.
The first half of jQuery Cookbook: Solutions & Examples for jQuery Developers (Animal Guide)is excellent. Though it is called cookbook, it could be the only jQuery book needed by an experienced programmer because the concept of jQuery is fairly simple and straightforward, and one only needs to look at a few good examples to quickly grasp the knowledge needed for most scenarios of jQuery use. The second half is mainly for jQuery fans who want to use jQuery to replace other technologies such as AjaxToolKit as much as they can.
Build a Website for Free by Mark Bellis a very good book for people who have zero experience in Website building. Even for experienced Web builders, the book provides some pointers to interesting free resources for tools, images, audios, content management systems, wiki, etc. Creating Web Pages Simplifiedis a very good book for people with some or quite some Web design experience. The look of the book could be quite deceiving - thick glossy paper, a lot of graphics and rudimentary explanation of all the topics giving the impression of not having much substance. However it gives solid substance adequate to create the vast majority of Web pages including sophisticated ones. After reading the above two books, there is no need for Small Business Web Sites Made Easy (Made Easy Series)for the sake of Web design in technical sense. However Small Business Web Sites Made Easy (Made Easy Series) provides a brief introduction to the business side of Web design - search engine optimization, advertising, online credit card charge. Though it touches JavaScript and PHP, but the content is good for neitherr beginners nor experts. Designing Web Interfaces: Principles and Patterns for Rich Interactionsis for readers who desire very rich user interface. If you want to have highly functional but yet simple user interface such as that of Craigslist, please ignore this book.
Million Dollar Website: Simple Steps to Help You Compete with the Big Boys - Even on a Small BusinessBudgetprovides something almost like a conversation with a person who knows a lot about the usability of web design and enjoys talking very much. It is a long talk for every point made It is suitable for people who have already established a website. Sexy Web Design: Creating Interfaces That Workis a good introduction to fancy or flashy Web design. If you are a fan of the highly functional but simple Web sites such as Craigslist or Google, ignore this book. Professional Web Design: Techniques and Templates (CSS & XHTML) (Charles River Media Internet)may provide a few useful tips for graphically intensive or messy Web design.
All Customers Are Irrational: Understanding What They Think, What They Feel, and What Keeps Them Coming Back reminds me of some friends of mine who speak well and enjoy speaking, but it is very hard to extract any meaningful points from their long talks which tend to rehash a simple point endlessly.