Summary
The book has taken me some time to get through as it is different from the usual textbook style of books I have been reading. It does not go chart type by chart type. However, it goes through examples after examples to prove the main point of the chapter. If you are looking for a book to inspire new ideas, this will not be the book. Instead, this book will lead you to re-think and re-look at the charts you have created. It also serves as a reminder when you create or use a chart. The contents in the book can be summarised using the chapter titles like the following:
- How charts work
- Poorly designed charts
- Charts that with dubious data
- Charts made with insufficient data
- Uncertainty and charts
- Misleading patterns on charts
Things I like
1. It goes into every point with examples. The book is full of chart images that illustrate the point the author is trying to make. Almost every section starts with the author going into an example of how a bad chart is being used and ends with the author offering some improvements or comments to the chart. Maps, bar charts, line charts, pie charts, and scatter plots are discussed extensively in the book compared to other kinds.
2. It points out issues with poor charts from both a creator's and user's point of view. It is a book useful for both creators and users as it highlights how lies can be detected on charts (even though it may not be intentional at times). For example, misleading charts used by politicians are mentioned quite a bit in the book. Likewise, this book has also made me realise that reading charts well is as difficult as creating them. People often see what they want to see and miss out on points despite the information presented.
3. It offers alternative solutions on how to make better charts. With updated versions of the charts being presented in some cases, readers are offered a fresh perspective on charts that may have been previously purposely drawn present a different narrative. One example is the discussion of scaling of charts when the space used is too narrow or too wide that may lead to the data being presented differently from the situation on the ground.
Final Verdict: A book that is for both chart creators to know why and how to not lie using charts, and users to know how to spot a lying chart.