Geographic Information Systems and Science (Paperback)

by Paul Longley (Author), Michael F. Goodchild (Author), David Maguire (Author), David Rhind (Author)
Key Phrases: plate carrée, maintaining geographic databases, navigating constraints, Applications Box, Biographical Box, Technical Box (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
“One of the nicest features is the book’s accessibility … this is a must-have reference guide for all newcomers to the field, be they students or professionals.” (GISProfessional, July / August 2005)

Product Description
The first edition of Geographic Information Systems and Science has taken the GIS textbook market by storm, selling over 22,000 copies since publication. It is the most current, authoritative and comprehensive treatment of the field, that goes from fundamental principles to the big picture.

GISS 2e builds on the success of the first edition:

• Completely revised with a new five part structure: Foundations; Principles; Techniques; Analysis; Management and Policy
• All new personality boxes of current GIS practitioners
• New chapters on Distributed GIS, Map Production, Geovisualization, Modeling, and Managing GIS
• Specific coverage of current hot topics:
  • GIS and the New World Order
  • Security, health and well-Being
  • Digital differentiation in GIS consumption
  • The core organizing role of GIS in geography
  • The greening of GIS
  • Grand challenges of GIS science
  • Science and explanation

A new suite of instructor resources including a companion website with an on-line lab resource and personal student sullabus and a cehensive Instructor’s Manual that maps the textbook to various disciplines and levels of courses.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 536 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 2 edition (April 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047087001X
• ISBN-13: 978-0470870013
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #79,261 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #19 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Engineering > Civil > Remote Sensing
  #67 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Earth Sciences > Geography
  #75 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Engineering > Computer Technology

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars GIS complete under one cover; computer-literates will likely find it tedious, March 9, 2007

By	F. Gibbons (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this book to provide the intellectual background to "Getting to know ArcGIS", for a class I'm taking. It's fine for that, I guess, with one caveat: I found it very slow reading, for a number of reasons.

At the outset, a lot of time is spent justifying why the 'S' in "GIS" stands for 'Science', not just 'Systems'. They talk a lot about how GIS helps in generating fundamental theories of science, but doesn't really offer examples. It just came off like a bunch of academics who just don't get enough respect. But there's nothing wrong with technology, and I don't know why the authors would want to justify what is clearly technology as science. (Technology is the application of science, in my book).

Another problem, for me at least, is that it is written at such a basic level. It takes a whole page or more, talking about how data can be ordinal, nominal, categorical, etc. I just felt like the book could have been a third of the size it is, without losing much. I recognise that not all readers will find this the problem I did.

I can see why it's highly regarded: apparently, it is really the first book to gather everything you need to know about GIS under one cover, and that's no mean feat. If you have an engineering/physical science background (bachelor's level), and have ever written your own computer program, you'll likely find it tediously slow and overly explicit. (If you already know the difference between 'raster' and 'vector' graphics you'll likely feel this book is too slow.)

It's still worth reading for the history it gives about the field, and the profiles of current GIS users.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Melds GIS theory with practice, December 12, 2006

By	Sabres Fan (USA) - See all my reviews

Longley's book is a well-written comprensive introduction to GIS applications, principles, techniques, analysis, and management and policy. I have the 2nd edition. Longley and coauthors clearly describe the main principles of GIS, such as representation, spatial autocorrelation, georeferencing, and uncertainty along with basic modeling, visualization, and queries. I am a nonscientist who used this book in tandem with Price's Mastering ArcGIS. Longley's use of illustrations, tables, and biographical sketches of GIS users are apt and useful. Technical boxes demonstrate mathematical formulas that the GIS is utilizing. The "further reading" section at the end of each chapter is subject-targeted and up to date. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is serious about learning GIS.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Geographic Information System and Science - Longley, May 16, 2007

By	Glynis Ford (Jamaica) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A good book for persons wishing to study the basic principles of GIS. Easy to understand although some of the examples may be a little abstract for persons with limited theoretical geographic or practical reference background. Experienced GIS persons may find it strong on explanations but a little short on practical applications.