Exploring the DS Library - "An Infographic History of the World"


In our first week at the Data School Cohort 38 and myself were tasked with choosing a book The Data School UK library and either reading the first 50 words or skimming the first few pages of each chapter - and determine whether we would recommend it to others. Fortunately, I had been eyeing up a particular book in the library for a few days prior and thus picked up - "An Infographic History of the World" by Valentina D’Efillipo and James Ball. Initially I was drawn in by the promise of beautiful infographics.

I personally really enjoyed even just skimming the first few pages of each chapter - and I found it quite difficult to not continue on through the book - though I will definitely be finishing it after I write this quick review.

To be completely transparent, when I first pulled this book from the library, at first glance I thought it would be a history on infographics and data visualisation as a whole. However, this book explores the history of the world through infographics. While not exactly a classic data visualisation book in that it is not incredibly theory based-  I argue that this book is just as useful as a more verbose book. Particularly concerning data visualisation, it explores a variety of topics through a variety of different data vizzes, and also encompasses a wide range of styles and design choices. It truly offers a break from the more static theory based side of data viz and allows you to explore the more visual and creative aspects. I also think it a great read for any skill level as it is not as daunting as some of the larger more text heavy classic textbooks.

The book has four key sections breaking up history thus far; In the beginning; Getting civilized, Nation Building, and the Modern World. Each section illustrates data related with that era through various visualisations. The style of the book also appears to evolve as we progress through each section, and such each era. For example, in the first section Getting civilized, the paper is almost yellowed, all of the vizzes are rather simplistic in design, and also no colour is used. However, this has all changed by the time you reach the final section of the book, where the pages are now glossy and the vizzes more complex. Additionally the book also includes a visual index - particularly useful if you want to have a quick glance at a particular topic or chart type.

To conclude, An Infographic History of the World is a light and enjoyable read, one  that you can easily enjoy on your daily commute and that also offers a plethora of inspiration to get your more creative juices flowing.


Author:
Trea McElhone
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