Anyone, in any field, that requires them to convey information to others, should read all of Tufte's books on information design. Book 3, Visual Explanations (how to convey "verbs", companion to "numbers" and "nouns") demonstrates through both good and bad examples, how to distill ideas down to convey the maximum amount of information with the least amount of ink in a manner that not only gets your point across, but does so in a visually pleasing and artistic manner.

Tufte practices what he preaches, too. Unhappy with the way various publishers proposed to print his manuscript, he self-publishes all of his books to incorporate his theories on information design. The result is an incredibly easy to read and understand book with footnotes and diagrams that meld seamlessly with the text. ( )

interessante, da rivedere ( )

The troublesome part of Visual Explanations (and all of Tufte's books really) is that it's so pleasurable you forget that you're supposed to be learning something. As distinct from the other two books in the series, Visual Explanations focuses on the manner in which images can tell a story and thereby render "reading and seeing and thinking identical". The images selected for the book are delightful and engaging - I've never before wanted to hang a data chart on my wall for the sheer artistry of it! Though it should be noted that Tufte has forever dispelled any remaining belief I harbored in magic.

As a series, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, Envisioning Information and Visual Explanations largely cover the same material - some illustrations are even discussed in multiple books - and the differences are really a matter of the degree of emphasis. If they weren't all so enchanting my advice would be to just pick one, but... they're just THAT good ( )

Excellent overview of the art of visual explanations ( )

The third of Tufte's series on information display, this book centers on visually explaining things (in Tufte's words, "pictures of verbs".)

Often quoted as indispensable in the field, it doesn't disappoint. The content is, of course, fantastic, but the book reaches much farther beyond. Every page is carefully crafted to provide itself the best example of the explained concepts. The text flows together with the images in a way not seen in any other book (forget computer algorithms to position images, either smart -LaTeX- or bad ones -Word-). Illustrations perfectly integrate into the text and are carefully reproduced without being restricted by page size or text, footnotes are transformed to "sidenotes" so that the flow of reading is not disturbed... every detail is *designed* and *crafted*, unlike so many books on design that break most rules they are themselves advocating.

Each chapter is devoted to a single or a few related ideas, but they are presented and explained using wonderful, memorable, stories. Thus, beatifully illustrated examples replace long academic paragraphs, resulting in vivid descriptions that shall not be forgotten. And although these examples show Tufte's erudition, they are wonderfully presented so that everyone can follow and understand the principles.
The author follows its own recommendations for presenting: go to the specific, then to the general, then back to the specific.

The best comes when a given illustration is redesigned to provide a better explanation of the displayed information. Wow.

A book to remember and re-read from time to time. 5 stars. ( )