Customer Reviews

Getting to Know ArcGIS Desktop: The Basics of ArcView, ArcEditor, and ArcInfo Updated for ArcGIS 9 (Getting to Know series)

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

A great step by step guide for those unfimliar with GIS. The book starts at the beginning and works its way from there. It does not assume anything. Also it comes with a fully functional 180 day trial cd of ArcGIS 9.0 and accompanying data, which allows you complete the lessions included in this book. Overall a wonderful guide. I am so glad I purchased it!

I'm giving this five stars, because I think it does a simple job well. It does NOT give you any real conceptual basis for GIS (aside from a one-page introduction to each chapter). It is basically a step-by-step guide to accomplishing some predefined tasks in ArcGIS, and it does that really well.

I'm using it in a GIS class right now. The book is divided into sections of a few chapters each. Sections have a common theme running through them, in terms of the subject matter they work with. In Chapters 3 and 4, you're trying to find where Amelia Earheart and her pilot went down; in Ch. 5 & 6, you're making a collection of maps of Africa, showing population density, location of different kinds of wildlife, symbologising rivers according to whether they're perennial or seasonal. Having interesting data to work with helps you work through the tedium of "Right click on the Countries layer (NOT the Countries data frame", now "Select 'Open Table'", etc. Going back and forth between book and screen is tedious, but interesting data makes it easier. Furthermore, little comments like the parenthetical NOT above, help to make sure that you're doing what you're supposed to be. You do get the impression that the authors are really experienced in writing computer manuals. Other chapters work with different kinds of data, as you learn your way around what is a rather complicated software product.

I tend to learn best through a combination of conceptual and hands-on thinking (I need the 'why' and the 'how'), and this is a little too much of the latter for me, so I'll be getting something else to cover that. But as computer manuals go, this one is really complete.

I also bought this book as a supplement to an Intro to ArcGIS course at university, and it's been a real lifesaver. The instructions are clear, concise and well-indexed. I use it as my main source now.

The current version works for Windows XP. I did have some trouble registering the extensions (after having having registered ArcView a few weeks previous), but was able to get new authorization numbers from ESRI and it worked out no problem.

I purchased this book to be able to create my own maps for a client. I was familiar with ArcGIS Desktop 8.3, but had never really created any GIS data. Using this book, I was able to create custom shape files, MXDs and layer files that really impressed the client. The author assumes little or no previous knowledge of using the product and does an outstanding job putting the information in the simplest of terms. Unlike the books that come with the software, this one will actually have you creating GIS data in no time flat. Well worth the money.

The software matches the text content so well that it is very easy to following the step-by-step instruction. Materials are nicely arranged.
Lots of fun to do the exercises and learn.
Highly recommend this book for the beginners.

This book walks you through using ArcGIS and includes a CD with a 120 day demo of the ArcMAP 9.1 tool. If you are taking a class, the license is worth the price of the book. There is almost no way to take on learning this huge piece of software without some help. I didn't go through the book from front to back. Personally, I took a class at the University of Texas at Dallas. So, I mainly used the examples in the book to help figure things out in the labs I had for class. But, just from using it I would say it was worth every cent I spent on it just from what I was able to learn from the examples. The 120 day ArcMAP license was great, too. (Note: not all features and tools are available in the demo - it is a basic version. But, still well worth it to be able to work at home in my view.)

This book is a superb learning resource. The 180-day evaluation copy of ArcView 9.2 is icing on the cake.

The book takes the reader through a series of 20 lessons covering a number of practical scenarios with each chapter having two to four examples, where the material is prepared as mxd documents. So it is straightforward to get into the actual purpose of the exercise.

Each page is fully illustrated to reassure the reader that what they are seeing on screen through the structured lesssons is correct.

I worked solidly through the book in about 4 days as preparation for the taught Introduction to ArcGIS 2. I should'nt have bothered with the instructor-led course, there was very little new material and the exercises were rushed. By contrast the book enables you to re-work a difficult area, at your own pace.

I would rate this book 10/10 for content, presentation, structure and choice of examples. I now wish there were a follow-on book to build on the foundation this book has provided.

Make sure the copy you get is the latest version (currently 2004).

The best part about this book is it included the ArcGIS 9 + extension w/ 6 months free licence. I bought this book for around $36, so I guess it's really worth it.

This book and the accompanying software is being used by the Geographic Information Systems department at Houston Community College. It is a very well written and illustrated text. The exercises are excellent and easy to follow. The software gives you a 180-day license and also sample datasets which the book employs.
An excellent choice, it would be hard to write a better book in my opinion.

Getting to Know ArcGIS Desktop is a very good introductory book to ESRI's latest software. It is easy to read and the exercises are easy to follow and are a great teaching tool. This book covers basic GIS tasks and will provide a solid foundation for future learning. However, I do not think this book will be useful to persons already experienced with ArcGIS as advanced topics are not covered. Overall, very good tutorial.