Understanding USA [Paperback]

Richard Saul Wurman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If a picture truly is worth a thousand words, then Understanding USA is one of the most comprehensive reference books ever written. Every page is packed with clear, simple graphics designed to break down massive amounts of information into easily digestible bits--but while the text is certainly informative, it tends to be a bit superficial. Nearly any topic that relates to the U.S. in a broad scale is covered here: financial, social, and political statistics are presented in reasonably clear-cut chapters. As each chapter is color-coded in the top right corner, it's easy to flip to the section of interest. General subjects include war, crime, education, environmental issues, and federal income and expenses. Within each of those areas, you can dive into the numbers of pretty specific queries, such as "How many nuclear weapons have been detonated since 1945?" or "How solvent is the social security program?" The format for all these statistics is reminiscent of USA Today's front page--pretty colors, a large variation in the type of chart use, cute graphics, and an occasional photo of real people. It's easy to understand, and full of interesting--although not always useful--information. Certainly, an understanding of the electoral process is good to have. (And there's a great explanation in the second chapter, but does it matter much that "in 1997, over 8 million people reported difficulty in lifting and carrying"?). As a basic family reference book, or a sourcebook for trivia buffs, this is a fine choice, but you'll need a deeper level of information than this to achieve true understanding. --Jill Lightner

Product Details

• Paperback: 324 pages
• Publisher: Rswinc (December 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967453607
• ISBN-13: 978-0967453606
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 7.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #505,808 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking, February 8, 2000

By 

David Winograd - See all my reviews

This review is from: Understanding USA (Paperback)

I've never had a head for facts and figures which is why statistics of how many of this or the cost of that always bored the pants off of me regardless of how much I could use the information. This book changed all that for me and is the finest example of data visualization I've ever seen.

Open it to any page and whether the subject is: how much does it cost to raise a child or poverty by race, the information screams at you in easy to understand graphics and brilliantly conceived and executed diagrams.

The information presented is almost encyclopedic in scope exploring complex and facinating issues presented in a variety of manners by a variety of contributors that employ many differing ways of explaining data, but what they all have in common is a high degree of creativity, a wonderful use of color and crystal clarity.

By the end of the book, which can be viewed in any order you choose, you are bound to be not only impressed with the design and beauty, but you're sure to have a clear understanding of just how the United States is constructed and operates at the start of the year 2000.

This book is a treasure.

52 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Understanding---it is NOT!, February 12, 2000

By 

Victor Christianson (New York, New York USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Understanding USA (Paperback)

From the promise of the title you expect to be presented with a lucid, logical, intuitive compilation of interesting information. You will be disappointed! The promise is empty. Not that the graphics aren't excellent, but the dis-organization of the book throws it all off. There is no table of contents, no index, no page numbers. There are about a dozen sub-tables of contents buried within the book, but they are a mess as well. Each is organized by contributor, with endlessly ovelapping topics. While it might be fun to flip through this from time to time, if you seek to look anything up, you may have to turn each of the 300 pages to find it. And heaven forbid you want to mark/refer to an interesting page - without pages numbers it's rather difficult. I think they should recall all of these and hire Don Nornam or Ed Tufte to create a thoughtful, intuitive means of knowing what's in here and how to find it. What were these guys thinking? Excellent idea, terrible implementation.

64 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Style over substance, February 21, 2000

By 

David Jankowski (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Understanding USA (Paperback)

This book intrigued me when I first saw it in the store. I always have an almanac handy, and I was hoping that this book might prove to be a nice supplement. I was wrong, and my almanac has nothing to worry about. Here's why:

1. The book is poorly organized. The book is organized by contributor, and in many cases there is no logic behind the grouping of any particular contributor's topics. Don't bother looking for an index or a helpful table of contents.

2. Why did I pay for this book? The preface goes to great lengths to emphasize that this information should be free. So why isn't it? With all of the corporate underwriters attached to this book it should be given away.

3. Somebody call an editor. The number of mistakes in this book is atrocious.

4. The book appears to be less about information and more about the egos of the contributors. Most of the contributors are not subject matter experts in anything but architecture or design. This makes the commentary that accompanies the pretty pictures seem uninformed. Which leads me to my final beef ...

5. There is a major bias prevalent throughout this book. The beauty of an almanac is that it presents the facts and lets you draw your own conclusions. Unfortunately, the left-leaning contributors of this book can't help but take the opportunity to advance their social agenda.

Save your money and buy a copy of The World Almanac.