Selected Book
Beautiful Evidence
- Hardcover
- Author: Edward R. Tufte
- Publisher: Graphics Press
- Release Date: July 2006
- ISBN-10: 0961392177
- ISBN-13: 9780961392178
- List Price: $52.00
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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Beautiful, but ... read Visual Display first and know what you are buying
Rating:
This book is beautiful to look at. I think even the strongest critics would agree. For the record, I am glad I own this book.
The question regards practicality and truth in advertising. The author certainly does not deliberately mislead, but many readers of his books (or those who know his reputation), will be expecting a book focusing primarily on the display of data in graphics. Fully two thirds of the book addresses that topic. However, many readers will be surprised to find discussions of dance notation, Albrecht Durer, and Matisse. Even more surprising is the final chapter on sculpture featuring the work of the author. Some will find this bordering on the self-indulgent. Also, many of the visualizations, while stunning, are hand drawn. The discussion of Galileo in particular is striking and thought provoking. However, if you are looking for ways to improve your presentations of data using your PC or Mac, you must make a leap of faith that the insights that you gain will produce practical results by changing your thinking.
Having said that, I enjoyed many of the sections on art, design, and cartography regardless of their immediate applicability to my data visualization work as a data miner and statistics consultant. Perhaps it is because I am a lover of maps and art books. Is that what you expect this book's appeal to be? I found it rich in content, but a critic might describe it as a "coffee table book".
In regards the accurate display of data in graphical form, two discussions standout: the brilliant chapter on powerpoint (also found as The Cognitive Style of Power Point) and the chapter on "sparklines". According to an NY Times interview with the author "sparklines" gets as many google hits as Andy Warhol. Given its popularity on google, one might consider the following strategy: buy The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd edition, buy the paperback on powerpoint, google "sparklines", and visit the author's site. If you find the work fascinating, attend one of the author's lectures (I did), and/or get all the books.
A Repeat and Tackle on Previous Work
Rating:
Good volume for those who may want an slightly deeper insight into visual communication. For the most part the analysis is well crafted, with stimulating insights. Sometimes a bit too repetitive, and obsessed with its own neurosis. For instance in the struggle against Power Point presentations, while I agree with him on most of the analysis, like Tufte also points out quickly early on it is not about PowerPoint but about the use given to it and the paradigm associated. He could be much clearer since I believe that the most important points are not about the software. Also I disagree with his interpretation of intellectual ownership, I also think that rights should not be given exclusively away but do advocate for a public, open, and shared cultural production. But that is another conversation...
All in all, it is a recommendable book, which - even if a little bit too hyped up for what it is supposed to offer - still offers a valuable read.
Disappointing
Rating:
Like many of the other reviewers, I too am a fan of Tufte. This book, however, is not up to the normal standards that his other books are. The chapter on the evils of PowerPoint was very amusing and insightful, but you can purchase that separately from Amazon.com at The Cognitive Style of Power Point.
Weak
Rating:
If you are looking for guidance on metrics presentation or insight, pass right by this book. The pictures are nice enough I suppose; but there are many, many, and I mean many, other books, Tufte's included, that are significantly more worthwhile.
The least of the Four Books
Rating:
This book does not hold up in comparison to the first 3 from Tuft. This appears to be made up of a number of unconnected papers. The most important in my opinion is the introduction of sparklines. It's worthwhile to revisit Minard, The inclusion of the work on Powerpoint is OK, but the inclusion of Tufte artworks/sculptures seemed a little self serving and left me confused as to the point. The production qualities of the book are superb, but the content inconsistent
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