Re: Visual Information books by Edward Tufte?

[Barry Campbell <barry -dot- campbell -at- gmail -dot- com>]

I am admittedly biased, as I have described myself at various times as
a "fan," "admirer" and even "disciple" of Tufte, but I think that his
mainstream books on information design (The Visual Display of
Quantitative Information, Envisioning Information, and Visual
Explanations) should be required reading for anyone who has occasion
to make charts, graphs or use other representations to present
information.

No, they're not cookbooks or how-to guides, but they will stimulate
your mind, inspire you, and make you think.  (My wife and I bonded
over Tufte, the Canadian novelist Robertson Davies, and the music of
Loudon Wainwright III when we first met--I knew instantly things were
going to work out.)

One of the best deals going, if you can get to one, is to attend one
of his seminars.  Copies of all three of his infodesign books are
included in the seminar price, and you get the added bonus of hearing
Tufte's funny, engaging presentation and hearing some "war stories."

The books are admittedly expensive, but they're beautifully printed;
they're hard to find on the used book market because most people want
to hold on to them once purchased. If you'd like to get a tiny,
affordable taste of Tufte, however, I recommend that you purchase his
jeremaiad against PowerPoint ("The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint"), $7
postpaid from his website:

http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/

To get a sense of the fanatical devotion he inspires in his readers,
check out the (free) discussion forums on that site as well; he's an
active participant.

- bc

--
Barry Campbell <barry -at- campbell-online -dot- com>
Voice: 212.741.6993  |  Mobile: 646.498.3518  |  Fax: 866.522.7270
AOL IM: bcampbellnyc
http://campbell-online.com
http://enrevanche.com
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