The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd edition

Edward R. Tufte is a noteworthy scholar and the presentation of the material presented in this book is awe-inspiring. Tufte has also compiled two other books that can be best described as quite remarkable. These additional books are entitled, ENVISIONING INFORMATION and VISUAL EXPLANATIONS. All three of these volumes are not merely supplemental textbooks; they are works of art.

My intent was to use VISUAL DISPLAY OF QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION as part of teaching my statistics course. Students, but mostly faculty, are overly impressed with inferential statistics. Graphics play an important role in the understanding and interpretation of statistical findings. Tufte makes this point unambiguously clear in his books.

Two features of VISUAL DISPLAY OF QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION are particularly salient in teaching a statistics course. First, the concept of normal distribution is wonderfully illustrated on page 140. Here the reader is reinforced with the notion that in the normal course of human events, cultural/social/behavioral/ psychological phenomena usually fall into the shape of a normal distribution. The constant appearance of this distribution borders on miraculous. Just as importantly, it is the basis for accurate predications in all areas of science. Tufte's illustration (page 140) speaks to this issue much more clearly than a one-hour lecture on the importance of the normal distribution. Which goes to show -- once again -- "a picture is worth a thousand words." Sadly, the illustration on page 140 is small and in black and white. I wish the second edition included a larger reproduction of this photo. A color presentation would have been helpful.

Second, Tufte continues his unrelenting pattern to reinforce the importance and impact of illustrations in understanding complex concepts. In particular, page 176 demonstrates the impact of Napoleon's march to Moscow. The illustration is both profound and eerie. The reader is left with a feeling of death and pain for the foot soldiers...


Superbly thought provoking   September 24, 2001
loce_the_wizard (Lilburn, GA USA)
30 out of 32 found this review helpful

I divide my graphics work into two categories: BT (Before Tufte) and AT (After Tufte). I rarely acknowledge any involvement of a publication from those dark BT days.

Tufte's masterful and dead-on takes about how to communicate statistical and quantitative data challenges standard assumptions about developing graphical information and reveals, though it is not his stated intention, the weakness of so many graphics software packages. Just look at his collection of chartjunk and "ducks" (his term for hideous graphics) to see how all the whistles and bells available to us via computer graphics programs actually obfuscate the interpretation of visual information. By the time you read how much ink and paper are wasted by created bad graphics, you should be a convert.

And if you are ever lucky enough to have the chance to attend one of Tufte's seminars, pawn your PC if that's what it takes.


It Will Change Your Thinking   May 22, 2001
33 out of 36 found this review helpful

Are you put to sleep by briefings on a regular basis? Do they become more colorful and simplified as the intended audience rises in your company hirearchy? Do you feel that you are being talked down to by a lot of fluff that could be condensed by a factor of say, a million? If your answers are "yes," but you cannot provide a good alternative, then this is the book for you. It changes the way you look at data. Through numerous examples, Tufte demonstrates how to rearrange and simplify tabulated lists, schedules, graphs, diagrams and maps in a way that elegantly reveals otherwise hidden relationships and patterns. I have applied his techniques to my own briefings as well as to vacation itineraries, meeting notes, and to do lists. But be forewarned. I have touted this book to my peers and managers and of the four people who have read the book none have had the epiphany I experienced. This book may be only for those who are fed up enough to change.


Changed my style   June 10, 2006
Jeffrey Jones (Ann Arbor, MI United States)
19 out of 20 found this review helpful

I was one of those chart-makers who used color just because I could, even when it was unnecessary or even inappropriate. This book changed the way I looked at graph-making. His concepts of data per unit of ink (which should be maximized), and trying to make each droplet of ink convey something useful were extremely helpful, as were his suggestions to minimize distractions and phony 3-d effects.

This, and his second book, "Envisioning Information" are must-reads for anyone designing computer statistical tools (like I was) or simply trying to convert raw data into meaningful graphs, maps, etc.


If a picture is worth a thousand words, better draw it carefully   September 4, 2006
Vincent Poirier (Tokyo, Japan)
17 out of 18 found this review helpful

The Visual Diplay of Quantitative Information is not exactly a how-to book, in that it won't give you step by step instructions on how to create charts. Rather Tufte shows us principles of good design, principles of bad design (i.e. how people lie with graphics) all accompanied by many inspirational examples.

His examples strike us with their beauty and economy and show us how picturing data makes a huge difference in how effectively and quickly we understand it. Looking at Mivart's chart of Napoleon's march on Moscow, or the Salyut 6 hand drawn mission schedule, or a Japanese train schedule can only make a geek like me gush out "Way cool!".

I find it gratifying that Tufte takes so many examples from Japan, where I live. The Japanese are often accused of simply working with other people's ideas. This is naive and the Visual Diplay of Quantitative Information provides an excellent counterexample of the Japanese being sophisticated leaders in a creative endeavor.

Vincent Poirier, Tokyo