Hardcover: 200 pages Publisher: Graphics Pr; 2nd edition (May 2001) Language: English ISBN-10: 0961392142 ISBN-13: 978-0961392147 Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.9 x 0.8 inches
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
213 of 222 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Years ago, I purchased the first edition of VISUAL DISPLAY OF QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION. The second edition provides high-resolution color reproductions of the several graphics found in the first edition. In addition, corrections were made. However, to most readers/users, I doubt that the changes would be worthy of purchasing the second edition if one already owns the first edition.
Edward R. Tufte is a noteworthy scholar and the presentation of the material presented in this book is awe-inspiring. Tufte has also compiled two other books that can be best described as quite remarkable. These additional books are entitled, ENVISIONING INFORMATION and VISUAL EXPLANATIONS. All three of these volumes are not merely supplemental textbooks; they are works of art.
My intent was to use VISUAL DISPLAY OF QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION as part of teaching my statistics course. Students, but mostly faculty, are overly impressed with inferential statistics. Graphics play an important role in the understanding and interpretation of statistical findings. Tufte makes this point unambiguously clear in his books.
Two features of VISUAL DISPLAY OF QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION are particularly salient in teaching a statistics course. First, the concept of normal distribution is wonderfully illustrated on page 140. Here the reader is reinforced with the notion that in the normal course of human events, cultural/social/behavioral/ psychological phenomena usually fall into the shape of a normal distribution. The constant appearance of this distribution borders on miraculous. Just as importantly, it is the basis for accurate predications in all areas of science. Tufte's illustration (page 140) speaks to this issue much more clearly than a one-hour lecture on the importance of the normal distribution. Which goes to show -- once again -- "a picture is worth a thousand words." Sadly, the illustration on page 140 is small and in black and white. I wish the second edition included a larger reproduction of this photo. A color presentation would have been helpful.
Second, Tufte continues his unrelenting pattern to reinforce the importance and impact of illustrations in understanding complex concepts. In particular, page 176 demonstrates the impact of Napoleon's march to Moscow. The illustration is both profound and eerie. The reader is left with a feeling of death and pain for the foot soldiers...
163 of 172 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book.
As a graphic designer and a minimalist, I love the way this book looks and I love the graphics Tufte's team has created.
Yet, the minimalist in me also dislikes Tufte's prose, which is surprisingly un-minimalist. The text is repetitive, and although Tufte does use this effectively at times to reiterate or summarize concepts, there are far more instances where I feel the repetition is simply irritating (Tufte's poems and block-quote summaries are, to me, good examples of this).
The minimalist in me is also not fond of the nature in which Tufte presents his opinions. Tufte makes frequent use of words like "lies" and "tricks," and while I am not fond of the targets of Tufte's derision, I feel that use of these words unnecessarily and unfairly assumes that poor graphs are always the result of malicious intent. Tufte's presentation as a whole, I feel, is often unnecessarily condescending (see e.g., p 120); indeed, Tufte seems to feel that unenlightened minds somehow deserve our ridicule and contempt.
As an academically oriented statistician, I also have mixed feelings. I give Tufte an immense amount of credit for opening a dialog about statistical graphics. And, I am grateful to him for pointing out the flaws and "wrongs" in the ways in which statistics are so often presented and suggesting ways in which these approaches can be changed. Moreover, I happen to agree tremendously with a large amount of what Tufte has to say, and often passionately so.
That said, I am puzzled by the amount of relevant concepts which are omitted from this text (or merely brushed over). Good examples include: samples versus populations, continuous versus categorical data, and exploratory graphics versus graphics presented for presentation.
For that reason, the academic and statistician in me is watchful of Tufte's role as an instructor of statistical ideas. Much of what Tufte has to say is not in fact unique or necessarily "right," and also not nearly close to being all there is to be said about statistical graphics (even at an introductory level). If students allow this text to be the sole contribution to their statistical education, I fear that -- without statistical intuition or knowledge to draw from -- they will not be critical statistical thinkers but blind followers. (Of course, none of this is intended to be a criticism of Tufte or Tufte's book.)
Those seeking a good overview of statistical graphics: keep in mind that this not strictly an instructional book. And while I wouldn't discourage you from reading or buying this text, I also wouldn't discourage you from seeking additional resources, either as an alternative or a supplement to Tufte's works. Much of the ideas supplied by Tufte here -- plus a great deal more -- can fundamentally be found in a good introductory statistical course or text, either directly or indirectly. Moreover, I would argue that there is absolutely no substitution for such an education.
As a graphic designer and a minimalist, I love the way this book looks and I love the graphics Tufte's team has created.
Yet, the minimalist in me also dislikes Tufte's prose, which is surprisingly un-minimalist. The text is repetitive, and although Tufte does use this effectively at times to reiterate or summarize concepts, there are far more instances where I feel the repetition is simply irritating (Tufte's poems and block-quote summaries are, to me, good examples of this).
The minimalist in me is also not fond of the nature in which Tufte presents his opinions. Tufte makes frequent use of words like "lies" and "tricks," and while I am not fond of the targets of Tufte's derision, I feel that use of these words unnecessarily and unfairly assumes that poor graphs are always the result of malicious intent. Tufte's presentation as a whole, I feel, is often unnecessarily condescending (see e.g., p 120); indeed, Tufte seems to feel that unenlightened minds somehow deserve our ridicule and contempt.
As an academically oriented statistician, I also have mixed feelings. I give Tufte an immense amount of credit for opening a dialog about statistical graphics. And, I am grateful to him for pointing out the flaws and "wrongs" in the ways in which statistics are so often presented and suggesting ways in which these approaches can be changed. Moreover, I happen to agree tremendously with a large amount of what Tufte has to say, and often passionately so.
That said, I am puzzled by the amount of relevant concepts which are omitted from this text (or merely brushed over). Good examples include: samples versus populations, continuous versus categorical data, and exploratory graphics versus graphics presented for presentation.
For that reason, the academic and statistician in me is watchful of Tufte's role as an instructor of statistical ideas. Much of what Tufte has to say is not in fact unique or necessarily "right," and also not nearly close to being all there is to be said about statistical graphics (even at an introductory level). If students allow this text to be the sole contribution to their statistical education, I fear that -- without statistical intuition or knowledge to draw from -- they will not be critical statistical thinkers but blind followers. (Of course, none of this is intended to be a criticism of Tufte or Tufte's book.)
Those seeking a good overview of statistical graphics: keep in mind that this not strictly an instructional book. And while I wouldn't discourage you from reading or buying this text, I also wouldn't discourage you from seeking additional resources, either as an alternative or a supplement to Tufte's works. Much of the ideas supplied by Tufte here -- plus a great deal more -- can fundamentally be found in a good introductory statistical course or text, either directly or indirectly. Moreover, I would argue that there is absolutely no substitution for such an education.
43 of 46 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I divide my graphics work into two categories: BT (Before Tufte) and AT (After Tufte). I rarely acknowledge any involvement of a publication from those dark BT days.
Tufte's masterful and dead-on takes about how to communicate statistical and quantitative data challenges standard assumptions about developing graphical information and reveals, though it is not his stated intention, the weakness of so many graphics software packages. Just look at his collection of chartjunk and "ducks" (his term for hideous graphics) to see how all the whistles and bells available to us via computer graphics programs actually obfuscate the interpretation of visual information. By the time you read how much ink and paper are wasted by created bad graphics, you should be a convert.
And if you are ever lucky enough to have the chance to attend one of Tufte's seminars, pawn your PC if that's what it takes.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great condition
This book is in a great condition. It is a great resource to learn about making figures that are clear and visually appealing.
Published 5 months ago by book buyer
Quality, Heart in the right place
From first glance the craftsmanship and time put into creating this book are evident. From the ink quality, and paper coloration, and well proportioned typography. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Sergey Trubetskoy
Obsolete - a Google search would prove more useful
This book *is* a visual display of quantitative information, but it might have been more useful before the Internet became the go-to information source for all of us. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Perkele
great insight
really thorough insight on infographics and data visualization. there are a few boring parts, but overall it's a mandatory read for those interested in the visualization of data.
Published 11 months ago by Mr. A
The bible of scientific visualization as a professional field of study
Tufte's book is the bible of visualization. This book is recommended for anyone who has to make graphs. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Marjorie McGuirk
Customer Review
The book itself has useful information in it, somewhat relatable to the work place, dependadnt on what you do. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Zman
Great Book. Great Info.
The book was great. It was nice to come across a book that wasn't interested in making itself loud and noticeable based on cheap graphic tricks. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Fernando Martinez
You will never look at information graphics the same way again
Tufte is a genius. His way of showing you lack of information density in much mass-market graphics is eye-opening. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Andrew J. Lazarus
arm-chair theoretician
If you want to see how OTHER people have done things, or better yet, lame criticism of how others have done things, then this book is for you! Read more
Published 17 months ago by Carl Brown
Valuable information every person whould know
This book is authoritative and clear, providing plenty of clear examples and evidence to support the author's claims. Read more
Published 17 months ago by wil3
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Excellence in statistical graphics consists of complex ideas communicated with clarity, precision, and efficiency. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
multifunctioning graphical elements, graphical integrity, moiré vibration, graphical excellence, graphical sophistication, relational graphics, quartile plot, franked mail, statistical graphics, data graphics Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, United States, World War, Business Week, Wall Street Journal, Charles Joseph Minard, American Statistician, Golden Rectangle, New Haven, William Playfair, The Times, Nationale des Ponts, The Statistical Breviary, Lie Factor, Jacques Bertin, Gray Funkhouser, John Tukey, Robert Venturi, Mary Eleanor Spear, Edmond Halley, Charting Statistics, Bureau of the Census, Statistical Association, Washington Post New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Excellence in statistical graphics consists of complex ideas communicated with clarity, precision, and efficiency. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
multifunctioning graphical elements, graphical integrity, moiré vibration, graphical excellence, graphical sophistication, relational graphics, quartile plot, franked mail, statistical graphics, data graphics Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, United States, World War, Business Week, Wall Street Journal, Charles Joseph Minard, American Statistician, Golden Rectangle, New Haven, William Playfair, The Times, Nationale des Ponts, The Statistical Breviary, Lie Factor, Jacques Bertin, Gray Funkhouser, John Tukey, Robert Venturi, Mary Eleanor Spear, Edmond Halley, Charting Statistics, Bureau of the Census, Statistical Association, Washington Post New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 38
books:
See all 38 books this book cites
100
books
cite this book:
See all 100 books citing this book
- Envisioning Information by Edward R. Tufte on 5 pages
- General Chemistry (Dover Books on Chemistry) by Linus Pauling on page 85, and page 102
- Graphic Idea Notebook: A Treasury of Solutions to Visual Problems by Jan White on page 79, and page 80
- Thermal Conductivity of the Elements: A Comprehensive Review (Jpcrd - Supplements, 3) by C. Y. Ho on page 49, and page 150
- The Quantitative Analysis of Social Problems (Behavioral Science) by Edward R. Tufte on page 53, and page 75
See all 38 books this book cites
- Your Guide to Survey Research Using the SAS System by Archer R. Gravely on 6 pages
- Getting into Print: A guide for scientists and technologists by Prof P Sprent on page 20, page 90, and Back Matter
- Teaching Graphic Design: Course Offerings and Class Projects from the Leading Graduate and Undergraduate Programs by Steven Heller on page 82, page 104, and page 155
- Handbook of Statistics, Volume 24: Data Mining and Data Visualization by C.R. Rao on page 46, page 436, and page 536
- Programming for Design: From Theory to Practice by Edith Cherry in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
See all 100 books citing this book
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