A self-guided tour of GIS and how it benefits consumers and businesses alike
| ||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From the Author
If you would like to learn more about Geographic Information Systems, participate in a dicussion with other readers, or download geographic data about your neighborhood, visit us at www.esri.com/gisforeveryone. Although, the best way to learn what GIS can do is to use it, so buy this book and get started making your own maps.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
David E. Davis is a geographer and technical writer at ESRI. He lives in Highland, California.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 37 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Well I didn't like it. I was hopping a deep introduction to GIS but what i got was an introduction to ArcView Explorer. With this book you see the final result of a work but you don't know HOW they did it nor the basis that support it. You can find this information on the net without paying for it.
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:CD-ROM
to ArcExplorer for everyone.
The book is a great introduction for those who want to have a more or less thorough tour of what a GIS is capable of. Being an ESRI press book, it was more or less obvious that its only approach was goin to be through ESRI products (ie. ArcExplorer)
Anyway, the book only shows what can be done with the already processed, already "ArcMade" datafiles. It fails to explain anything else of the GIS creation process.
If you're looking for a technical book, forget it.
The book is a great introduction for those who want to have a more or less thorough tour of what a GIS is capable of. Being an ESRI press book, it was more or less obvious that its only approach was goin to be through ESRI products (ie. ArcExplorer)
Anyway, the book only shows what can be done with the already processed, already "ArcMade" datafiles. It fails to explain anything else of the GIS creation process.
If you're looking for a technical book, forget it.
28 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
We live at a time when more and more information is being converted into digital form. For example, music went from analog (records) to digital (CDs). Movies are going from videotape to DVD. Cameras are transitioning from taking photographs to generating digital images.
Books and maps are also going digital. While the advantages of a digital book are not clearly established, the advantages of digital maps are nothing short of breath-taking. That's because when transformed from paper to digital form, maps become enriched with information that simply cannot be included on a paper map. Davis calls these information rich products "smart" maps.
A whole new industry has emerged that deals with smart maps; it's called the Geographical Information System (GIS) industry. A GIS is computer hardware and software for spatial data handling and map making.
The variety of smart maps is so broad that the ambitious title of the book, GIS for Everyone, is not stretching it too far. Davis shows how students, business people, homemakers, and community leaders can use smart maps for school, work, home, and community action with just a Windows-based personal computer.
A computer program is needed to generate, view, and manipulate smart maps and the data they contain. One such program, ArcExplorer, is provided on the CD that is included with the book.
To generate digital maps requires data files that the computer uses to draw streets, county outlines, country boundaries, volcano locations, hurricane tracks, or any other feature or phenomenon that's mappable. The CD includes some 500 megabytes of such spatial data.
Davis guides the reader (and budding smart map user) through a series of thirteen "explorations" of places and spatial situations around the world from San Diego to Prague to Sydney, with stops at New York, Austin, and Rio de Janeiro. (Additional data, for the reader to explore on their own, are provided for other places such as Yellowstone National Park and Bucharest, Romania.)
The reader is encouraged not only to try his or her hand at exploring a variety of mappable environmental and cultural data and display the resulting smart map(s) on a computer screen but also to print, e-mail, or present the smart map on a web page.
Davis helps the reader/world explorer into the new world of smart maps by focussing on specific themes. In chapter 2, the theme is understanding digital maps. Chapter 3 focuses on finding answers with digital maps. In chapter 4 Davis shows the reader how to tell stories with digital maps. Chapter 5 helps the "reader" build digital maps and the final chapter, 6, helps the reader find additional data sources available on increasing numbers of web sites.
So, if you're interested in exploring your world and beyond (there's a satellite image of Mars on the CD), buy this book and start working with smart maps ASAP!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
GIS 101
This book is an excellent introduction to GIS technology. It is a great starting place for those of us new to the technology.
Published on October 17, 2007 by S. G. Sebree
A good place to start!
The book with the CD are very useful to learn the basics about ESRI GIS principles. I was looking for a book to help gain some insight into how GIS works; this fulfilled the need.
Published on April 1, 2007 by Jay Toigo
Beware of software glitches on the CD-Rom
Received this tutorial today and imediately started on the lessons. Oops! There are two Glaring errors---so far--in the lesson plans. Read more
Published on March 27, 2007 by B. Schofield
wonderful stocking stuffer
I recommend buying several copies of this book and sending them out to friends & family you might want to offer more of a glimpse into GIS than just sending them to an online... Read more
Published on May 25, 2003 by chaizzilla
Very, very good starting book for GIS
This book is great fun! The CD has lots of stuff on it to explore, and the 'explorations' are all interesting. Read more
Published on April 20, 2000
a very cool book
as someone who has been trying for my entire career to explain what geographical information systems (my speciality) are all about, I was thrilled to find and read this book. Read more
Published on January 4, 2000
Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
IF YOU'RE STILL THINKING that geography consists of boring maps of mountains and roads, this chapter is intended to convince you otherwise, as we present a small sample of the enormous variety of maps and geographic analysis that are being created every day using GIST technology. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
output data source, active theme, map view, map service, address matching, geographic data, shaded relief, dialog box Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Theme Properties, Geography Network, United States, Add Theme, San Diego, Classification Options, Click the Open Project, None Selected, National Elevation Dataset, Query Builder, Rio de Janeiro, Sequoia National Park, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Capital Hilton, Image Service Latest Status, Java Edition, Layer Information Name, Service Type, Sierra Nevada, Address Spelling, Click the Clear Selection, Click the Match, Everyone Web, Jefferson Memorial New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
IF YOU'RE STILL THINKING that geography consists of boring maps of mountains and roads, this chapter is intended to convince you otherwise, as we present a small sample of the enormous variety of maps and geographic analysis that are being created every day using GIST technology. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
output data source, active theme, map view, map service, address matching, geographic data, shaded relief, dialog box Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Theme Properties, Geography Network, United States, Add Theme, San Diego, Classification Options, Click the Open Project, None Selected, National Elevation Dataset, Query Builder, Rio de Janeiro, Sequoia National Park, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Capital Hilton, Image Service Latest Status, Java Edition, Layer Information Name, Service Type, Sierra Nevada, Address Spelling, Click the Clear Selection, Click the Match, Everyone Web, Jefferson Memorial New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
3
books
cite this book:
- The Mapmakers (Revised) by John Noble Wilford in Back Matter
- The Mapmakers: Revised Edition by John Noble Wilford in Back Matter
- Making Community Connections: The Orton Family Foundation Community Mapping Program by Connie L Knapp on page 165
Books on Related Topics
(learn more)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
