Lying with Visualizations: Seeing Isn't Believing

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

I picked this up after getting stuck on a project and it turned out to be exactly the right book at the right time. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. The chapters on analytics are the strongest — the examples are stripped down but complete, and I could follow along without constant guessing. If you have the prerequisites, this is an easy recommendation. I will be keeping it on my desk rather than the shelf.

Better than I expected. Rare to find a technical book this well judged.

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 index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. One of those books that pays for itself within the first few chapters. Highly recommended.

An enjoyable and informative read, though it could have been shorter.

I read this over a couple of weekends alongside a small side project, which turned out to be the ideal way to approach it. I found myself making notes in the margins, which is always a good sign. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. Some terminology is introduced without much ceremony; I had to look a few things up along the way. Four stars, and I suspect a second edition could easily push it to five.