In this book Edward R. Tufte show us how we tend to over complicate things and how visual effects tend to distort the story that the numbers have to tell us. He introduces the concept of information to ink ratio is introduced, which is a fancy way of saying that each pixel on a chart should add information or help to it's comprehention.<br><br>The book is also a beautiful collection of historical charts, whose authors intuitively knew the importance of un-cluttered information but to which Edward Tufte adds his personal touch to make them modern works of art. My personal favorites are the "Carte figurative", which shows the progress of the Napoleonic war and the one shown on the book cover, which represents a train schedule.