Visual Display of Quantitative Information is a history lesson and a bit of a how-to guide rolled into one on the design of effective charts. It was originally written in 1983 and considering how much charting has changed due to computer graphics, it is still astute and relevant. Using a rich set of examples, Tufte identifies a set of principals that will improve the clarity of charts. This is something that the proliferation of Excel charts could really use.
As a foundational book on charting, I found the book had many interesting points and I am looking forward to reading his next book in his series Visual Explanations.
P.S. If this sounds at all interesting to you, I hear he has a fascinating one-day course that is well worth attending.
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