Reader reviews

The clearest explanation of data visualization I have come across.

I came to this book already familiar with the basics, and it still had plenty to offer. Some of the material is available elsewhere, but rarely presented this clearly. The book rewards careful reading. Skimming it would be a mistake. This is the book I wish had existed when I started working with data visualization.

Decent, but uneven. Some chapters are much stronger than others.

I read this over a couple of weekends alongside a small side project, which turned out to be the ideal way to approach it. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. The book rewards careful reading. Skimming it would be a mistake. Useful as a reference, less so as a straight read from cover to cover.

Very good, with a few caveats. The core material is strong.

A colleague recommended this and I can see why. It does something that few technical books manage: it respects the reader's time. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. The writing is direct and does not waste space on filler, which I value in a technical book. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. Worth picking up if you already have the basics. Set realistic expectations and you will get a lot out of it.

A worthwhile addition to my shelf, with realistic expectations.

A colleague recommended this and I can see why. It does something that few technical books manage: it respects the reader's time. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. The author avoids over-explaining, which keeps the pace up but means you need to pay attention. Worth picking up if you already have the basics. Set realistic expectations and you will get a lot out of it.

It does the job, though it took some patience to get through.

I bought this on a whim after seeing it mentioned in a forum thread, and I am glad I did. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. A few of the examples could be more realistic, but the underlying points come across clearly. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. Useful as a reference, less so as a straight read from cover to cover.

This is the one to get if you are serious about uncanny valley.

There is a particular kind of technical book that is dense without being difficult, and this is one of them. A couple of chapters felt like they could have been merged, but that is a minor complaint. It is denser than the page count suggests, and I found myself slowing down around the middle. This is the book I wish had existed when I started working with uncanny valley.