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James Kalbach, the author of Designing Web Navigation: Optimizing the User Experience, has a degree in library science from Rutgers University, as well as a master’s in music theory and composition. He is currently a User Experience Designer with LexisNexis and previously served as head of information architecture with Razorfish Germany. He is also an active speaker and author on information architecture and usability in Germany.  This is the only book he has written to date.

The book opens up with a simple and essential concept, when navigation works well, it is underwhelming.  When the customer can move about a website in a fluid manner, without noticing all the strategic navigational tools such as drop-down menus, breadcrumb trails etc., it is a much more successful and pleasant experience. Kalbach stresses the importance of proper labels for sites and speaking the language of the user, further showing his commitment to usability.

Amazon Review:
James Kalbach, writing on behalf O’Reilly Media, presents a strategic, consumer-driven approach to web navigation in his book, Designing Web Navigation: Optimizing the User Experience.  The book is very engaging, offering snapshots of up-to-date, colorful, relevant websites pertaining to the specific navigational tools he is explaining. The simple layout and organization of the book make it a must read for any website designer whether the firm be a large corporation, or a quaint start-up business.  The book is split into three parts, comprising of the following table of contents:
Part I
1.    Introducing Web Navigation
2.    Understanding Navigation
3.    Mechanisms of Navigation
4.    Types of Navigation
5.    Labeling Navigation
Part II
6.    Evaluation
7.    Analysis
8.    Architecture
9.    Layout
10.    Presentation
Part III
11.    Navigation and Search
12.    Navigation and Social Tagging Systems
13.    Navigation and Rich Web Applications

Being a beginner at web design and navigation, I was expecting the book to be full of technical jargon leaving me far from interested and unknowledgeable, but the opposite was true.  The first section of the book does a fabulous job at breaking down web navigation, what it is, why it’s crucial etc., but I would hardly call it a beginner’s read.  Kalbach gives intricate descriptions of why poor navigation may turn users off from your website, and in turn your company, and how fluid, well-designed sites can make positive experiences for potential customers.  After giving thorough background on the topic, the author does delve deeper into presentation of websites, and other modern web topics such as social tagging systems.
Designing Web Navigation succeeds at explaining tools for commendable web navigation, but does not go into the JavaScript, Ajax and other topics, which require a lot of previous technical knowledge. The color pages and relevant, modern, relatable websites allow readers to truly be put into the place of the customer, and gives them the opportunity to ponder how they would like to maneuver a given site.
Although I would consider this book a necessary addition to any web designer’s bookshelf, the first section of the book is the only one that kept my attention.  I found the background and basic academic explanations of the book extremely engaging, and as it moved into the latter sections, and consequently more difficult concepts, I began to find myself losing interest.
Overall, from a novice perspective, I would give Designing Web Navigation 5 stars, considering it’s reader and consumer friendly take on web design.  It is an easy read, extremely clear and well organized, and does not require much involvement or prior knowledge on behalf of the reader.