by Edward R. Tufte
- My rating: Rated 4 out of 5
- Read: March 2012
- Published: 2006
- Pages: 213
- Category: Data visualization and cartography
My review
From this book I probably liked the most the brilliant explanation of the principles of analytical design. The Minard data-map of the French invasion of Russia in 1812 is the base for that description.
The attack against the way communication is done with powerpoint is just brutal. He defends a tool for improving presentations: the use sentences. "Written sentences forces the presenter to be smarter" he writes.
I also liked the chapter about combining words, numbers and images. He describes the problems of segregating them. Why do so many books have problems combining text and images? Is it because there are still people who think that design = decoration?
I didn't really get the point of the last chapter on sculptures other than show Tufte's work.