Really, really good overview of all aspects of composition. I am an amatuer photographer who is 8 months into using a DSLR. I bought this book because I found many interesting places to take pictures, but all of my pictures seemed boring. I've noticed a difference already.
Key areas covered by the book include elements of design - line, shape, form, texture, pattern, and colour. The book also does a very good review of compositional topics such as the rule of thirds, filling the frame, right v left positioning of the subject, working with your subject, and breaking the rules. There is a short review of the light.

For me, the strongest aspects of this book were it's good coverage of the elements of design, particularly ones that I didn't think much about such as texture, pattern, form, and line. The section of composition is also very strong - particularly the lesson on filling the frame to create interest, and horizontal v vertical shooting. The recommended exercises are also very good and helpful to start 'seeing creatively'. In summary, this is a very good overview of all aspects of composition and it's enough information to give a newcomer a lot to think about and practice.
The only negatives of the book are it's relatively light treatment of colour (it is covered for 10 pages, but I thought it could have been twice as long, particularly on colour combinations and relative weighting of colours in a composition to create interest (e.g., equal or unequal weighting of contrasting colours). The only other area I found lacking was a section on how to pick a compelling subject/composition. I did pick up inspiration to photograph many of everyday things I would not have otherwise thouht of. I would have liked a more specific treatment of the author's thought process for how to choose a subject and the combination of the elements of design (e.g., is combining 2 or more create a more compelling image).
Overall a very good read for someone who hasn't been introduced to composition