The Truthful Art: Data, Charts, and Maps for Communication
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- Create Date：2021-08-16 09:56:35
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Alberto Cairo
- ISBN：0321934075
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Summary
The Truthful Art is an introduction to quantitative thinking and statistical and cartographical representation written specifically for journalists and designers。 A follow-up to The Functional Art， it goes into the specifics of how to create functional charts， maps， and graphs。 Part 1 in The Truthful Art provides a broad introduction to statistics， written with journalists and designers in mind。 Cairo avoids using jargon and formulas， focusing instead on how to manage and interpret data sets， and how to extract stories from them。 In Part 2， Cairo gets down to business giving specific advice on how to use charts and maps in infographics and visualization。 Readers will learn what kind of statistical charts exist and how to use them correctly; what maps are with an introduction to cartography terms and techniques; the basics of maps including how to create locator maps and how to understand basic cartographical terms such as projection， scale， symbolization， etc。; and the main kinds of thematic maps （choropleth， isopleth， proportional symbol， etc。） and how to use them。 In Part 3， Cairo leaves the classroom and enters the real world with an in-depth look at how information graphics and visualization teams are organized at publications around the world including The New York Times， La Naci�n （Costa Rica）， Estado de S�o Paulo （Brazil）， and more。 He also explains how to develop a successful style book for graphics using sample pages from several real style books for examples。 Part 4， the last section of the book， features interviews with six to 10 leading designers of charts and maps including Jer Thorp， Amanda Cox， Ben Fry， and more。
Reviews
Víctor Ortega Solar
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Quiero leerlo para dar una opinión
Annie
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I give this book 3。5 stars。 There are several failings with this book that kept it from getting a higher rating。 The book is not focused on charts and visualizations; there are sections covering statistics。 If you don't know the subject already， touching on the basics isn't that useful。 Another problem is that the author uses some examples from his own experience working in another country。 The trouble is some of the examples are in a foreign language。 While the charts are understandable with ex I give this book 3。5 stars。 There are several failings with this book that kept it from getting a higher rating。 The book is not focused on charts and visualizations; there are sections covering statistics。 If you don't know the subject already， touching on the basics isn't that useful。 Another problem is that the author uses some examples from his own experience working in another country。 The trouble is some of the examples are in a foreign language。 While the charts are understandable with explanations in the text， the author should have selected examples where the audience would understand the context immediately。 。。。more
Rasmus Dahl
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The textbook I would have liked in my curriculum at my university。 The emphasis is on how to present data rather than on the statistical methods。 Having a degree with through understanding of all the mathematical definitions for all the statistical methods doesn’t serve you well if you are not able to communicate your findings or insights in a clear understandable manner。 This is the pitfall that this book cover。Well worth the read。
Sudipta Paul
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Must read for data journalist。Cookbook for beautiful data visualisation process and communicate an important message to the reader。
Brad Stieber
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This is at the top of my list for an introductory look at data analysis and visualization。 The chapter on exploratory analysis is especially good。
Marcello Sequeira
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The author has made a multi disciplinary topic rather accessible。 He combines a conversational style of writing， with academic style references throughout the text。He does tend to drone on a bit， waxing philosophically， even after the point was made several pages ago。 The book length would have been half the size if not for this （& to my mind， an even easier read！）The number of references provided for those interested in delving deeper is impressive。 A good first book on data visualisation to un The author has made a multi disciplinary topic rather accessible。 He combines a conversational style of writing， with academic style references throughout the text。He does tend to drone on a bit， waxing philosophically， even after the point was made several pages ago。 The book length would have been half the size if not for this （& to my mind， an even easier read！）The number of references provided for those interested in delving deeper is impressive。 A good first book on data visualisation to understand the concepts， but probably not one you would refer to time and time again。 。。。more
Hamish Seamus
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Very likeable authorial voice。 But the content is no good for someone who's already scientifically literate。 It's full of shallow exposition on tangential topics。 Very likeable authorial voice。 But the content is no good for someone who's already scientifically literate。 It's full of shallow exposition on tangential topics。 。。。more
Hablemos de Infografía
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Publicado el 10 de setiembre del 2018Acabo de terminar “The Truthful Art” o “El Arte Veraz” （New Riders， 2016）， el nuevo libro de Alberto Cairo， uno de los pioneros de la infografía multimedia， cuyos trabajos se pueden ver en El Mundo， The New York Times y en medios brasileños。 Actualmente dicta la Cátedra Knight de Periodismo Visual en la Universidad de Miami。Al comienzo de la lectura Cairo invita al lector a buscar en Internet la palabra infografía y preguntarse: ¿es todo aquello que aparece e Publicado el 10 de setiembre del 2018Acabo de terminar “The Truthful Art” o “El Arte Veraz” （New Riders， 2016）， el nuevo libro de Alberto Cairo， uno de los pioneros de la infografía multimedia， cuyos trabajos se pueden ver en El Mundo， The New York Times y en medios brasileños。 Actualmente dicta la Cátedra Knight de Periodismo Visual en la Universidad de Miami。Al comienzo de la lectura Cairo invita al lector a buscar en Internet la palabra infografía y preguntarse: ¿es todo aquello que aparece en los resultados？。 Luego expone una realidad apabullante: la mayoría de estos son “visuales amables， simplones y tendenciosos， provistos de datos temblorosos， diseñados principalmente para mover el tráfico de la web， no para informar。”Usando la palabra visualización como término “paraguas”， Alberto Cairo se enfoca y define la infografía， la visualización de datos y las aplicaciones de noticias， aunque el término cuenta con más ramificaciones。¿Qué tan importante es este trabajo de visualizar datos？ ¿Hacia donde nos puede llevar？El autor recuerda el gráfico que publicaron tres profesores del IPCC （Grupo Intergubernamental de Expertos sobre el Cambio Climático） en su reporte anual del 2001， en donde， usando registros paleo-climáticos （como el hielo o los anillos en los troncos de los árboles） y datos recogidos sistemáticamente desde el siglo XVII， demostraron que en la década de 1990 la temperatura global se incrementó de manera nunca antes vista。 Esto generó controversia， sobre todo porque en EE。UU。 habían grandes intereses económicos que se verían afectados por las regulaciones que se iban a aplicar a las emisiones en el futuro。 Aún cuando existe un pequeño movimiento que niega este hecho， está claro que este gráfico， poderoso y apocalíptico como se ve， está modelando nuestra vida actual y lo seguirá haciendo en el futuro。Este caso de éxito sirve de introducción para lo que “The Truthful Art” nos quiere mostrar: las cualidades debe tener una infografía， una visualización de datos o una aplicación de noticias。 Entre las principales está el ser veraz， que evite engañar a la audiencia con datos sin procesar o mal procesados y， a la vez， evitar el autoengaño por parte del periodista visual。 Debe ser funcional， al representar adecuadamente la información y permitir al lector usarla en su provecho。 Agrega que más que informativa， la infografía debe ser reveladora， capaz de cambiar el modo de pensar del lector。 El ejemplo arriba citado cumple todas estas características。A lo largo de la publicación encontramos conceptos y herramientas que nos pueden servir a los infografistas （o periodistas visuales， o profesionales y entusiastas que trabajan a diario con gráficos） para no caer en el autoengaño al trabajar con datos estadísticos， muchas veces sin una mirada crítica hacia sus resultados。 ¿Qué hay detrás de estos números？ ¿La muestra es significativa？ ¿El margen de error y el nivel de confianza nos permiten usar este documento？ ¿Cómo podemos defendernos de caer nosotros y hacer caer a nuestra audiencia？ ¿Este tipo de proyección del mapa me facilita la correcta representación de mis datos？Es usual que dentro de los medios se encarguen trabajos que pretenden demostrar un punto de vista determinado el cual debe ser sustentado por cifras。 Alberto Cairo nos invita a explorar la data en su diversidad y complejidad， para extraer de ella historias que pueden ser más interesantes que aquellas que se proponen casi a ciegas， y demuestra por qué esta actitud nos llevará a tener mejores infografías。 Para ello menciona distintas polémicas suscitadas en las redes sociales， en campañas políticas y diversos casos de estudio en prensa escrita y web。El libro llega a mencionar estudios de neurociencia que explican por qué somos tan propensos a creernos historias que terminamos defendiendo a capa y espada。 Estar atento a ello es importante， ya que vivimos sumergidos en una avalancha de información que viaja a velocidades supersónicas las cuales que debemos filtrar （o al menos intentarlo）。 Entre las diversas citas memorables del libro encontramos la de Will Storr: “Somos por naturaleza contadores de historias con tendencia a creernos nuestros propios cuentos。”En el terreno de la práctica se puede encontrar la amplia gama de gráficos para representar datos， desde los clásicos， hasta los más atrevidos y que empujan los límites permitiendo una mejor lectura de información cada vez más compleja。 Hace hincapié en que， cuando se trata de gráficos， no existe lo bueno o lo malo， existe lo adecuado o inadecuado para aquello que queremos plasmar， por lo que un tipo de representación no es mejor que otra。“El Arte Veraz” es un libro que recorre diversas disciplinas y demuestra por qué usar herramientas científicas nos puede ayudar a sobrevivir en un mundo dominado por logaritmos。 Resulta útil no solo a los infografistas， sino a todo aquel profesional que entienda que la comunicación visual es nuestro byte de cada segundo。 Uno termina la lectura sabiendo que el rigor de la ciencia aplicado a nuestro trabajo diario en prensa nos permitirá， como decía Carl Bernstein （The Washington Post） “obtener la mejor versión posible de la verdad”。 En el caso contrario， un mal manejo de los datos nos puede dejar en ridículo， y aquí otra buena cita del libro: “Si torturas tus datos por un tiempo suficientemente largo， la naturaleza siempre terminará confesando” （Ronald H。 Coase）。No dejen de echarle un vistazo。 Es útil， ameno， geek por ratos y está lleno de buenos ejemplos y citas muy bien puestas。 。。。more
Rafelmenmell
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Más básico de lo que me pensaba。 Aunque muy a favor de divulgar sobre data y graph literacy
Ali Sattari
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This is basically about skepticism， scientific method， basic statistics， how not to lie with statistics and then finally visualization。 I have to admit I skipped most parts of details of advance visualizations。
Aaron Lee
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Clear and packed with content。 I enjoyed this one more than the first book， Functional Art， although it’s probably because this is more geared towards data viz and not illustrated infographics 。 Definitely recommend this for anyone who is starting or already doing data visualization， as it covers a number of important practical considerations and helpful tips without being dogmatic （subtweet Tufte）。 It’s probably also a helpful book for anyone who just wants to avoid being misled by charts they Clear and packed with content。 I enjoyed this one more than the first book， Functional Art， although it’s probably because this is more geared towards data viz and not illustrated infographics 。 Definitely recommend this for anyone who is starting or already doing data visualization， as it covers a number of important practical considerations and helpful tips without being dogmatic （subtweet Tufte）。 It’s probably also a helpful book for anyone who just wants to avoid being misled by charts they see。 。。。more
Mel Nguyen
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Great book on data visualization - Alberto stressed the importance of presenting data with the truth in mind and to never stray from that path。 He also gave lots of advice on how to best present certain types of data and included examples on visually stunning and insightful work from other authors。 This book is a checklist data analysts， journalists and designers should always keep in mind before diving into anything。 Lastly， ask questions。 Always question what you see。
Pedro Garrido Vega
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Un libro sobre visualización escrito por un “diseñador gráfico”。 Ofrece recomendaciones útiles y enseña como los gráficos pueden engañar en vez de explicar la verdadera historia。 Pone mucho énfasis en el papel de la estadística。
Louis
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I think this is what I have been looking for without knowing it。 The math of how stats work and the concepts added in with the ability to visualize or see what the data looks like is incredibly helpful。 also its fun to read。 loved the recommendations and links to other websites/portfolios。 keeps for more reading。 WIll also look for the next book with is described as more of the actual design side of making things presentable。 whereas this was more on the present good information side of things。
Pablo Osorio
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Muy claro para comprender el mundo de la visualización。No escribe para sus iguales， escribe para alguien que está iniciando。 Aunque ya conozcas algunos temas de estadística y visualización， su lectura no tiene desperdicio。
Anneli Kruve-Viil
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Though the book claims to be about data visualization it does a poor job in explaining WHY some graph work and some not， and HOW to prepare a good graph。 Page after page is wasted on explaining math on high school level。 The part on graphs is more of a graph album then a book to look explanation from。
Andrew
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This may be coming in low for me because I already have some background in the area， and had high expectations。 I wasn't expecting material on stats or manipulation of data， or scientific method， but a good chunk of time is spent on it。 What I hoped to learn was a more systematic way of thinking about visualization and going deeper there。 This book basically gives you an intro to everything you need to go from zero to visualizing data （conceptually and mathematically， not technically）。 I like th This may be coming in low for me because I already have some background in the area， and had high expectations。 I wasn't expecting material on stats or manipulation of data， or scientific method， but a good chunk of time is spent on it。 What I hoped to learn was a more systematic way of thinking about visualization and going deeper there。 This book basically gives you an intro to everything you need to go from zero to visualizing data （conceptually and mathematically， not technically）。 I like the message of the book （let the data tell the story， not your narrative） and it does provide some of what I was looking for。 （The hierarchy of visualization and some other general principles it outlined were all good） however I felt most of the content was intro stuff。 I could also have completely missed the point， or come from such a different place I wasn't prepared to absorb the value。 。。。more
Carlo Capasso
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Basic Visualization with some statistics。 Great job。
Iurii Okhmat
，
Nice！
Matt
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Great book that is thorough， organized well， and well referenced。 I would have given it 5 stars but the example images were too hard to read at the sizes included。 I wish they would have been bigger to be able to use more easily alongside the text referencing them。
Nicolas
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It is interesting to read about how a journalist thinks about creating compelling visuals。
Tiago
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I really liked the book and the way it was written， which made it a very enjoyable read。 Alberto Cairo's writing is one of the strengths of the book。The "The Truthful Art: Data， Charts， and Maps for Communication" goes through the different stages of data visualization。 From the data collection， to the the visuals themselves focusing on guidelines and science principles that produces a good and truthful visualization。 Also， concepts like p-values， confidence intervals and hypothesis testing are I really liked the book and the way it was written， which made it a very enjoyable read。 Alberto Cairo's writing is one of the strengths of the book。The "The Truthful Art: Data， Charts， and Maps for Communication" goes through the different stages of data visualization。 From the data collection， to the the visuals themselves focusing on guidelines and science principles that produces a good and truthful visualization。 Also， concepts like p-values， confidence intervals and hypothesis testing are explained in a very clear way and without loaded maths or notation。 That was a pleasant surprise for me。 The book has some valuable valuable advice on how to proceed with exploratory data analysis and the ethics of data visualization。 I'll cite a very nice quote from the book: "If getting your information right is the most important step in creating any visualization， the second one is helping the audience interpret it correctly"There are a lot of lessons to be learned and I'll cite three: 1） Look at the data from even more angles than you are doing now。 2） Always pay attention if the patternicity， storytelling and confirmation bugs are lurking around。3） Talk to domain experts about the data to make sense of what the data is telling us before rushing to conclusions。And， of course， there are a lot of cool visuals and lots of references and links to go deeper into the topics。 I would definitely recommend it。 。。。more
Aitor
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Ameno， muy bien escrito， lleno de consejos y con brillantes ejemplos de los más prestigiosos visualizadores de datos。 Sin duda una referencia en la literatura sobre visualización de datos， interesante para periodistas， científicos， divulgadores o estudiantes。
hannah
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Makes me anticipate the 3rd installment in the trilogy: The insightful art
Michael Scott
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TODO full review:+++ Overall， I love this book。 It's a thoughtful explanation of both the craft of information visualization （which graph depicts it best？ how？ why？） and an insightful warning on the ethics of information visualization （should I drop the "wrong" values？ how should I emphasize my story while not playing with the minds of the readers unrespectfully？ how to spot the damn liars from all these statisticians/data scientists？）+++ Does not sound preachy on ethics， and at times the tone i TODO full review:+++ Overall， I love this book。 It's a thoughtful explanation of both the craft of information visualization （which graph depicts it best？ how？ why？） and an insightful warning on the ethics of information visualization （should I drop the "wrong" values？ how should I emphasize my story while not playing with the minds of the readers unrespectfully？ how to spot the damn liars from all these statisticians/data scientists？）+++ Does not sound preachy on ethics， and at times the tone is overtly pragmatic。 This is how the discussion should take place。+++ The examples from technology， which among the examples in this book I can understand best， are spot on。+++ An exceptional array of relevant and modern graphing techniques。+++ All the good links and references。 Check them out！ 。。。more
coolwind
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Have in-depth explanation of why and how make visual present the truth。 Good to read together with the author’s functional art。
Almudena
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Un gran libro， ameno， certero， muy bien escrito。。。 con conceptos sobre ciencia y estadística que exceden el ámbito de la visualización de datos estrictamente hablando。Por eso mismo creo que es un texto divulgativo excelente para el público general。 Un poco básico para un lector algo más especializado。
Risto Hinno
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Visualizing data in a way that it would be correct， beautiful and exiting is difficult。 This book is a great introduction to this topic。 For beginners there is clear introduction to statistics （simple and graphical）。 For more advanced readers there are many examples that give inspiration。 One of the main ideas I got from this book is that good visualization doesn't always have to be simple， it shouldn't give impression of confidence or clarity when it is lacking in data。 Nice read for anybody wh Visualizing data in a way that it would be correct， beautiful and exiting is difficult。 This book is a great introduction to this topic。 For beginners there is clear introduction to statistics （simple and graphical）。 For more advanced readers there are many examples that give inspiration。 One of the main ideas I got from this book is that good visualization doesn't always have to be simple， it shouldn't give impression of confidence or clarity when it is lacking in data。 Nice read for anybody who is dealing with graphics。 。。。more
Leni Krsová
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One of the BEST books about data and its visualisation。 Full of valuable resources， good tips and advices on how to deal with everything involving data。 Simply great！P。S。: Take your time with this one， there is a LOT of information you will need to process。 But it's totally worth the while。 One of the BEST books about data and its visualisation。 Full of valuable resources， good tips and advices on how to deal with everything involving data。 Simply great！P。S。: Take your time with this one， there is a LOT of information you will need to process。 But it's totally worth the while。 。。。more
Dimitrios Mistriotis
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