Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding.
Review: This book is a classic....the best readable book on chess strategy I've have read. The title makes it sound like a beginner's book, and it is, in a way. What makes this book a classic, is that anyone can benefit from it. I went from a class A player to Expert by reading this book. Since this book is mostly about strategy, I would also recommend, as the author does, a book on tactics, "Chess Tactics for Advanced Players" by Yuri Averbakh.
Rating: 
Summary: Not bad but Overrated!
Review: This is certainly a good middlegame book - 'tho one of the best things about it is that it starts with basic endgame material, encouraging you to cover much-ignored material.Also, even though (as some others have pointed out) much of the material is unoriginal, it is presented in a systematic and reasonable way. BUT, I still found this book irritating! 1) While claiming to be an 'all-round' book, it's section on tactics was very poor - tactics came across as the poor cousin to positional play - and even worse, there was the suggestion that if you found the tactics secion too shallow, why not buy Silman's other book devoted to tactics... hmmm... 2) I've NO problem with someone using their own games in a work, but Mr. Silman's examples are almost all wins and no losses. In fact, the whole style of the book struck me as a bit of an ego trip for Mr Silman, (maybe that's just because most chess books are fairly modest, and also maybe I'm just jealous because he's a far better player than me!). In short, definately NOT deserving of 'exceptional' status, but still a useful book if you can stomach the author's style.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as it's cracked up to be
Review: This book has been garnering rave reviews from chess players all over the internet. I have just finished a thorough study of the book, playing through all the games, and doing all the exercises. I have several criticisms. First, there are far too many spelling errors. Almost every page has one. This is the third edition -- haven't the editors heard of spelling checkers? There are quite a few errors in the game scores, too. Second, and more importantly, the book is largely a reworking of familiar material, in spite of the author's claims of originality (the "Silman thinking technique," and so forth). A comparison with Euwe and Kramer's 2 volume work on the middle game shows that Silman has copied a great deal of his material from that book, annotations and all. In fact, in many cases, the annotations by Euwe and Kramer are superior to Silman's boiled-down versions. In spite of the above criticisms, this is not a bad introduction to middle game planning. But I don't think the book deserves the accolades that have been showered on it.
Rating:
Summary: A MUST read for all chess players up to an "A" rating
Review: I am a strong "B" / weak "A" rated player. I've always known that my chess has been tactically very strong, yet positionally average. This book has changed my outlook on the way a chess game is played. The author starts off by explaining his "thinking technique" (which is worth the price of the book alone!), and then moves on to explain the various imbalances that occur within a game. What really impressed me about the book, was the clear lay-out, excellent english, and error-free chess notation. (I cannot stand chess books written in the passive voice - or even worse, with errors all over the book!). Mr Silman's choice of examples were always pertinent, and clear. He provides several tests, at the end of each section of the book. I found the tests at just the right level...challenging, and not trivial, nor ridiculously obtuse. I recommend this book VERY STRONGLY. This is THE best book for players of moderate strength.
Rating: 
Summary: A good book for a beginner, or if you're in a creative rut
Review: Here are my qualms with the book: 1) The book's layout is not conductive to holding it while studying a game. The book is too short and squat (it's a trade paperback) to crack the binding. 2) Nimzowitsch is dead so he can't sue for copyright infringement. The book is mainly a reworking of My System put into more user-friendly terms. On the other hand, the chapter on planning in chess is worth the price of the book alone.
Rating: 
Summary: A good, near-great book
Review: The part of the book dealing with planning is worth the price of the book. By page 40 the reader may feel ready to storm the local club in search of victims. But stick with it and you'll see improvement.
Rating:
Summary: Shining Example of how Chess Strategy Should be Written
Review: This book is well organized, full of information necessary to climb up into the intermediate levels (and maybe higher), and is better written than any other chess book I have ever read. With it's clarity of expression and depth of explanation, it should be a model for all other chess books of its kind. If you find yourself in the middlegame without a plan, then you need this book. Yes, tactics are important for the improving player, but what do you do in quiet positions? Silman's clear explanations of positional and strategic principles will show you how to formulate a plan. While principally a middlegame strategy book, it also extends the philosophy out to show its interrelation with the opening, the endgame, and middlegame tactics. Your mileage may vary, but for this reader, Jeremy Silman's "How to Reassess Your Chess" was what it took to break him through that learning barrier we all hit on our path upwards. This is my absolute favorite chess instruction bo! ok.
Rating:
Summary: The best introductory chess middlegame book
Review: I own more than 100 chess books and this is one of the best. The title is somewhat misleading since this book doesn't provide a complete chess course. You'll find close to nothing about the opening and only very basic lessons on the endgame. However, this book teaches you all important basic elements of the middlegame in a very systematic way. Jeremy Silman did a great job by taking the reader at the hand and leading him step by step through a large number of interesting examples. The chapter on planning in the middlegame is well worth the price of the book alone, I didn't find anything like this in any other of my books. A study of this book will certainly help anyone rated below 1800. Afterwards you'll be ready for more difficult middlegame books like the ones of Nimzowitsch or Euwe and Kramer.
Rating:
Summary: Basic documentary but not a feature length movie !
Review: Clearly not living upto it's title [chess mastery course] this book enhances the positional, tactical and other subtleties in a chess player upto 1500 rating. No thorough treatment of any subject yet it encompasses almost all matters. well almost ! Good for beginners and seasoned beginners..but once you get to Intermediate level [1550-1750] you'll be reassured that you have `Chess Praxis' and `My System' on your shelf !
Rating:
Summary: Good book for an average player but certainly not a classic
Review: A good book for players upto 1400-1500 ELO but certainly not of upper class. Effective approach but not deep enough for serious tournament players. Just gives basic idea more or less for a layman of chess. Nowhere near the dynamic duo of `My system-Chess praxis' in it's approach to various nuances in chess.Nevertheless effective for kids for a good start in their chess-career
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