Bottom Line: I could see giving this book a higher rating if it had been billed as a DM's guide to citybuilding. Instead, it writes itself off as being for both players and dungeon masters, and it just doesn't do a good job of that.
Why:
Firstly, the book is too spread out because there just wasn't a lot of material for players and most of that section is fluffed up. There are less than twenty feats, less than fifteen spells, and there are only three prestige classes. This is a pretty terrible showing, and it could be redeemed if the organizations in the book included rules based on PHB II's affiliation system, but they don't. Basically this book is a total waste of time for players, unless you're playing a rogue, in which case there is one prestige class you might like. Unless you're in a campaign that demands you own a book in order to use it, borrow this thing from a friend.
As for the DM material, I was very excited about how this book would turn out. The authors both worked on Heroes of Horror, and that book was a really great resource for all kinds of adventure building. I had high hopes. For the most part, this book satisfies them, though I have a complaint that cuts a little bit off the rating. The material is far too *specific*; instead of rules for generating sages, we have specific sages with specific characters that the PCs can apply to for knowledge. Instead of really good city building rules, the book is full of sample cities. Want to make an organization? Instead just use one of the included pre-made organizations.
Where I had been hoping for a book to expand on the scant city building rules of the DMG, this book just showed how some designers put them to use. I would've preferred a lot more insight into thought process, design, etc. Additionally the monster section is too short.
All in all, this book is not really for players and for DMs, it's missing something. I wish that they had spent longer making this one a winner, but apparently Wizards has other priorities.