I find it hard to believe an editor actually passed on the layout of these books.  And once the original reviews starting coming in (saying "good books, terrible layout") I don't understand why the layout wasn't changed.

All that having been said, I would have to agree with the others that although the coverage is uneven, these books are indispensable for the devoted French player, at least for the serious tournament player.  (Actually, depending on whether you play the Winawer or Classical, 1 of the 4 books is not necessary.)  I may be a little biased by the fact that almost all of the lines I play as Black were given excellent coverage by Psakhis, so I don't really mind the gaps in coverage pertaining to lines I don't play.  I don't think these books are essential or necessarily even appropriate to someone just taking up the French, as Psakhis does seem to assume a certain level of understanding of French themes.  Possibly something like Byron Jacob's "Starting Out: the French" would be a better introduction, and even Watson's "Play the French III" , despite being a very detailed repertoire book, might be more accessible to someone just taking up the French.

      But the longer I spend with these books (I am a diehard Winawer player, so I just have the first 3 volumes), the more I appreciate that the real value of the books is in the overall quality of analysis, and the number of original ideas.  Although Psakhis' results these days are not what they once were, he still seems very strong in terms of his understanding of positions. And he is a life-long French player.  There are tons of insights in these books, often somewhat hidden in the notes, that you simply won't find anyplace else.  You just have to put up with the terrible format and put in some effort to find them.

      - Geof Strayer

The Tarrasch volume is the only one i've seriously worked through so far. The more I read it, the more I like it! It's fairly balanced and objective. The layout is terrible, but at least the book is full with good material. Some lines like 3... Be7 and the "universal system" (tarrasch with Ngf3) could be more detailed though.

I would be interested in what others think of the 4 volume series on the French. For serious players there are many many suggestions and ideas and a good summary of existing theory. Some lines, particularly the main lines (3...Nf6, 3...c5) of the Tarrasch , the 3. e5 lines and Qa5 in the Winawer are done very well, the coverage of other lines such as the poisoned pawn line in the Winawer, the Be7 line against the Tarrasch and key lines in the Classical (e.g. Kramnik's Qf2) is very disappointing. I agree with the reviewers who say that the books need a comprehensive index but to be fair the books are not that hard to navigate. Overall I give this series the thumbs up.