A book that I have seen on several recommended reading lists on data viz. The book provides an in-depth discussion on the topic of data viz. The book opens with an address on data - something that is missing in some data viz books. It then goes into how viz is a medium to present information as an analysis, infographic, and even art. With that, data viz is examined as a whole.
If you like more, Nathan Yau is also the owner of FlowingData, a blog on data viz, but its contents are behind a paywall.
Things I like
1. Illustrations. The book is filled with illustrations of not only sample viz but also diagrams to explain the concepts in the book. The polychromatic illustrations are also lively and vivid spreading across a page or even 2 whole pages. The samples inspire readers and the diagrams help readers quickly pick up the main points.
2. A fresh take on the same topic. Even though the topic of "choosing the right chart" has appeared in numerous publications, this book still manages to have a fresh take on the topic through the idea of exploring data visually. The book takes you into the position of choosing the chart type for your dataset by having you see the process as an exploration. Exploratory data analysis becomes an important step to create good data viz and analysis.
Final Verdict: A book that looks to be timeless due to its tool-agnostic nature with detailed explanations on matters covering possibly almost all aspects of data viz.