Geographic Information Systems and Science

by Paul A. Longley, David W. Rhind, David Rhind, et al.

Book Overview

Effective use of today's vast geographic information (GI) resources requires more than just powerful technology for problem solving. It requires science to help us understand the way the world works,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 047087001X
• ISBN13: 9780470870013
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 536 Pages
• Weight: 3.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 7.9" x 10.3"

Customer Reviews

Geographic Information Systems and Science

If you want to know how GIS works, this book will give you a complete picture of it.

Easy to understand

It has examples and explains things clearly. It is a book about GIS theory and design, and understanding GIS systems in general although they use Arc software primarily for examples. Overall a useful book that is not too expensive.

As described

I needed this text book. It was exactly as described and arrived very quickly and in good condition. For me, it provided a good overview of GIS and the management of that technology.

Melds GIS theory with practice

Longley's book is a well-written comprensive introduction to GIS applications, principles, techniques, analysis, and management and policy. I have the 2nd edition. Longley and coauthors clearly describe the main principles of GIS, such as representation, spatial autocorrelation, georeferencing, and uncertainty along with basic modeling, visualization, and queries. I am a nonscientist who used this book in tandem with Price's Mastering ArcGIS. Longley's use of illustrations, tables, and biographical sketches of GIS users are apt and useful. Technical boxes demonstrate mathematical formulas that the GIS is utilizing. The "further reading" section at the end of each chapter is subject-targeted and up to date. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is serious about learning GIS.

Highly recommended by GIS instructor

I use this book to teach my university-level students. As someone who prefers a practical approach to GIS, but still wishes to back it up with theory, I have great appreciation for this book. It provides an excellent overview of topics relevant to GIS without overwhelming computer-wary students. Don't be fooled by the colorful, pretty pictures in this book,though-this is a serious primer on almost every theoretical topic related to GIS. My students tell me they especially like how much of the theory is backed up with practical examples. I especially recommend this book to GIS professionals who wish they had a background in Geography. It tells you everything you need to know and little that you don't.One caveat-if you are not an ESRI user (ArcInfo, ArcView, ArcGIS) this may not be the book for you. Although other software packages are covered in the examples, the focus is heavily on ESRI.