The Visual Display of Quantitative Information

Absolute must read. Very concise and informative.

It was useful to understand when a graph is well done. There's a really nice chapter about biased statistic graphs.

Tufte draws from various examples over history and contemporary periods to illustrate the challenges of organizing, presenting and communicating data and information over visual 'flatlands'. Particular attention is given to how multi-dimensional information, especially accrued over space and time can be woven into narratives in traditional media. However there does exist a lack of coherence in how examples are organized. Examples are drawn from different time-periods, in different contexts and switched about often without giving the full treatment they deserve. At the end of the day, there are aren't clear things to take-away, just a set of examples on interesting ways to display information.