Customer Reviews

GIS Concepts and ArcGIS Methods

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is heads and shoulders above anything else I've ever seen (so far) about ArcGIS.

This book (and its predecessor _GIS Concepts and ArcView Methods_) is a very successful integration of the principles and power of Geographic Information Systems, along with how to do it in ArcGIS (or ArcView in the case of its predecessor). It gives the high level view as well as the low level steps, but well integrated so that you learn what to do and why to do it at the same time. You also get the middle level information, like what the data structures are and how to use them, etc. And when you want to refer to a method later, it is concisely described. You come out knowing what GIS is, as well as knowing how to do it in ArcGIS.

Most other books about Arc software suffer from an incredibly bloated style that hide principles inside low level instructions, e.g. click on this command, move the cursor here on the screen, etc. filling out the pages with screen shots so that there is very little content per page. And at the end of it all, the feeling is that you've done an exercise, and can copycat the steps, but don't have the principles or the broad view of how to use the program.

If you want to really learn ArcGIS, this is the book to get.