Readings in Information Visualization: Using Vision to Think (Interactive Technologies) (Paperback)

~ (Editor), Jock Mackinlay (Editor), Ben Shneiderman (Editor) "To understand something is called ""seeing"" it..." (more)
Key Phrases: information animation applications, visual knowledge tools, prosection matrix, New York, Galaxy of News, Visible Human (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This collection of classic and ground-breaking papers explores the issues involved in information visualization--thought versus perception, mental process versus graphic representation. In Readings in Information Visualization: Using Vision to Think, visualization is defined as "the use of computer-supported, interactive, visual representations of data to amplify cognition."

The papers are organized into the categories of "Space," "Interaction," "Focus + Context," "Data Mapping: Document Visualization," "Infosphere, Workspace, Tools, and Objects," and "Using Vision to Think." Subcategories are divided into the following:

• 1-D, 2-D, and 3-D structures
• Multiple dimensions
• Trees
• Networks
• Dynamic queries
• Interactive analysis
• Fisheye views
• Alternate geometry
• Text in various dimensions
• The Internet
• Information workspaces
• Visually enhanced objects

Discussions of the applications for and implications of visualization processes complete the book. Readings in Information Visualization: Using Vision to Think is targeted at research professionals in academia and industry; students new to the field; and professionals in statistics, information design, and medicine. The papers should be of particular interest to specialists in any area in which discovering the relationships between data and its visual representation is critical. --Kathleen Caster

Product Description

This groundbreaking book defines the emerging field of information visualization and offers the first-ever collection of the classic papers of the discipline, with introductions and analytical discussions of each topic and paper. The authors' intention is to present papers that focus on the use of visualization to discover relationships, using interactive graphics to amplify thought. This book is intended for research professionals in academia and industry; new graduate students and professors who want to begin work in this burgeoning field; professionals involved in financial data analysis, statistics, and information design; scientific data managers; and professionals involved in medical, bioinformatics, and other areas.

* Full-color reproduction throughout
* Author power team - an exciting and timely collaboration between the field's pioneering, most-respected names
* The only book on Information Visualization with the depth necessary for use as a text or as a reference for the information professional
* Text includes the classic source papers as well as a collection of cutting edge work

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Product Details

• Paperback: 712 pages
• Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann; 1st edition (February 8, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558605339
• ISBN-13: 978-1558605336
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #729,643 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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

  #12 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Graphic Design > Information Visualization
  #51 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Computer Science > Software Engineering > Multimedia Information Systems
  #75 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Computer Science > Artificial Intelligence > Human Vision & Language Systems

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

86 of 99 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars an oxy-moron, July 5, 2000

By	Rob Wentz (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

hey somebody ripped me off!

yes the written content is full of great information, and is highly acclaimed. However the vast majority of the images used in this book are nearly unreadable due to the extremely poor reproduction quality and low image resolution. This leads me to wonder whether the book was printed at kinkos or printed from the high school's 150 dpi printer!

i've seen photocopies that looked better than this! i'm not kidding!

come on.. black text on dark grey background?

were these conscious design decisions?

note... the 1 star is to bring down the average. i bought the book due to the perfect record of all 5 stars, however i don't believe a book on design topics should get away with such horrid imagery for the price..

2 of the 3 authors for this book are from xerox... i wouldn't doubt they used thier own xerox machine to reproduce the graphic designs found within the pages inside the cover.

37 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars INDISPENSIBLE SURVEY OF THE FRONTIERS OF INFOVIZ, January 10, 2000

By	Robert E. Horn (Stanford University, Palo Alto CA) - See all my reviews

Stuart Card, Jock Mackinlay, and Ben Shneiderman, all extraordinary leaders in creating and researching the field on human-computer interface design, have pooled their editorial judgment to create a comprehensive, and much-needed collection of pioneering articles on information visualization. They have produced remarkable survey of such topics as context, mapping, spatial metaphors, interaction, navigation, and visual tools.

680 pages! 47 articles! Filled with excellent choices of research and invention woven together with incisive summaries of the widely disparate, individual software accomplishments of the leaders of the field from around the world. This indispensable collection not only provides in-depth solutions to specific problems but also shows the explorer where the current frontiers are.

A rich, solid, impressive, and welcome contribution to a field that affects all of our lives now that the interactive graphic computer has made all of us users of visual language. Altogether indispensable for the researcher and innovator who will return to this remarkable collection again and again.

--Robert E. Horn, author, "Visual Language: Global Communication for the 21st Century" and visiting scholar, Program on People, Computers and Design, The Center for the Study of Language and Information, Stanford University.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I wish it had been available for purchase three years ago, January 4, 2001

By	kent dahlgren (Portland, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews

If I would have been able to buy what basically amounts to a near comprehensive gathering of exactly the kind of research I've spent the past three years trying to find....I'd be a happer man with far more hair on my head.

Caveat: you gotta be the kind of person who likes reading this sort of thing. I love reading RFC's so its way up my alley. If you are looking for a Reader's Digest version of how to develop interfaces for complex systems you won't find it here.

But if you are one who seeks to augment your own personal toolbox with the findings of those far more wise than yourself, get out your wallet and buy this book. Its great.