Andrew asked if I could recommend some resources for GIS analysis and cartography. So, I went through my recent Amazon.com purchase list and put together a table. I could add all of the ESRI press books, but many of those are heavily ESRI button-centric. Instead, the books below are focused on theory and methodology. The ESRI books below are actually useful books about the science and mathematics behind GIS analysis.
I’d like to note that Elements of Cartography, may be a little dated since it was last updated in 1996. It’s a good read and one of those books that ties you to the art of Cartography.
There are some cultural geography books in the list too. Everything we do involves people and I’ve been working on some stuff involving mapping cultures. If you’re interested in activism or NGO mapping, these books can be helpful rounding your geographic education.
Why Geography Matters is on the list. Harm de Blij has written many human and cultural geography textbooks in America and this book, I feel is a good read about why having an understanding of geography matters. He focuses on climate change, the rise of China, and the effects of terrorism. You’ll feel that you have chosen the right line of work.
Finally, there are hundreds of books on spatial databases, GIS for the Web, and all sorts of different avenues that geography and GIS cover. As much as I’m trying, I can’t seem to read or buy them all. I would love to, but I like my work-life configuration right now. These are a few titles to get you started. I hope others make recommendations of their own favorite materials as well.
This is an extremely good run down of the best books in the GIS field. I am currently a graduate student studying GIS and i’m literally in the middle of, finished with, or plan to read, all but 2 of the books on the list. Nice work dude.
Comment by Chris — May 27, 2008 @ 11:33 pm
[...] love reading books like the ones by Cynthia Brewer and John Krygier on Fantom Planet’s list, and Bjørn Sandvik’s Thematic Mapping Blog fascinates me in the same way. I always [...]
Pingback by thematicmappingblog rules! · Random Nodes: Jason Birch's geospatial ramblings — May 31, 2008 @ 5:18 pm
For developers, here is another list
http://gisprog.wordpress.com/2008/02/27/some-gis-books/
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Comment by buhLusbalEsaL — February 15, 2009 @ 9:59 pm