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1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Basic and Simple...but Useful...Coverage of Chart "Tricks and Pitfalls" Jul 19, 2009
"How To Lie With Charts: Second Edition," while a basic, simple, and "roughly" composed book, offers up some useful content. Playing on the timeworn theme of "lying with statistics," Gerald Everett Jones (the author) guides the reader through a number of common techniques/approaches used to generate charts that can confound the message that the data underlying charts may actually be "telling."
Put another way, Jones shows the reader what to look out for when reading charts prepared by others. Jones also offers guidance and suggestions to readers for how to present data in a clear, unambiguous, and meaningful manner. As such, the book covers both defensive (what to watch out for when reading charts) and offensive (how to present charts clearly) aspects of charts...and the messages charts tell.
While basic in many ways, there are some important and useful ideas covered in this book. I recommend this book more to readers with little experience reading and/or preparing charts than to those readers with deep experience in such activities.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
The Choice is Yours Jun 08, 2009
I honestly wouldn't know of any author out there that would have the audacity to embark on such a journey into the analysis of how one could lie with charts as Gerald has. Although the problem might lie in getting this book into the hands of those who would knowingly use charts to lie, perhaps the most important audience for this type of book are those people that don't even know they are lying but do anyway.
In a time where everyone wants to "get rich quick" without much effort these days, this book has caused me to perk up my ears and question certain things before assuming what someone is CHOOSING to illustrate to me (or not) using a chart. In this analysis, Gerald has given just about every single example and illustration out there that I can think of to make an informed decision about the meaning of any chart one uses. He gives quick useful information to help you understand everything from the type of chart to the power of colors, layouts, and even something as small as the format of a date or placement of a line.
It's a book that causes you to think of the power we all have with the data we are given or choose to present. Choosing to make a highly complex bomb just because we have the knowledge to, or using that same knowledge to help prevent people that use those bombs is the message I take away from this book. In short, using "How to Lie with Charts" as Gerald explains is really up to each one of us. Use it to inform yourself, or use it to lie, you the individual really must decide this for yourself. So choose wisely.
Must Have Jan 19, 2009
This little book is a true hidden gem. It has settled several arguments with the Sales Department, who loves misleading graphs. If you are in advertising, marketing, research-development, or, as a consumer, you wish to avoid being mislead by all of the above, you need this book.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
An utterly invaluable educational and self-teaching tool that is absolutely vital to staying abreast of the information age. Apr 14, 2007
Business, technology, and web development expert Gerald Everett Jones presents an updated second edition of How to Lie with Charts, a must-read for everyone in the information age. How to Lie with Charts is a folksy-toned, fun-to-read guide to how graphs, charts, tables, and other means of presenting statistical data can be effectively used to mislead. How to Lie with Charts is therefore inordinately valuable to anyone trying to make sense of news stories, business presentations, research data, or any other gathering of information presented in visual form, as it opens the reader's eyes to tips, tricks, and techniques commonly used to give false impressions. An utterly invaluable educational and self-teaching tool that is absolutely vital to staying abreast of the information age.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Don't let charts trick you! Nov 10, 2006
"How to Lie with Charts" is a must read for presenters, students and decision makers. Many tricks of the data display trade are revealed. Both how to lie with charts, and how to spot lying charts are demonstrated. This book rewards readers with clearly described methods applicable to the next presentation. Avoiding complex mathematical arguments, readers become chart literate. Fun to read and well-illustrated, "How to Lie with Charts", can save you from being misled and allow you to make your points tellingly.
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