--- product_id: 165027555 title: "How Charts Lie: Getting Smarter about Visual Information" price: "525 kr" currency: NOK in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.no/products/165027555-how-charts-lie-getting-smarter-about-visual-information store_origin: NO region: Norway --- # How Charts Lie: Getting Smarter about Visual Information **Price:** 525 kr **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** How Charts Lie: Getting Smarter about Visual Information - **How much does it cost?** 525 kr with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.no](https://www.desertcart.no/products/165027555-how-charts-lie-getting-smarter-about-visual-information) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description A leading data visualization expert explores the negative―and positive―influences that charts have on our perception of truth. We’ve all heard that a picture is worth a thousand words, but what if we don’t understand what we’re looking at? Social media has made charts, infographics, and diagrams ubiquitous―and easier to share than ever. We associate charts with science and reason; the flashy visuals are both appealing and persuasive. Pie charts, maps, bar and line graphs, and scatter plots (to name a few) can better inform us, revealing patterns and trends hidden behind the numbers we encounter in our lives. In short, good charts make us smarter―if we know how to read them. However, they can also lead us astray. Charts lie in a variety of ways―displaying incomplete or inaccurate data, suggesting misleading patterns, and concealing uncertainty―or are frequently misunderstood, such as the confusing cone of uncertainty maps shown on TV every hurricane season. To make matters worse, many of us are ill-equipped to interpret the visuals that politicians, journalists, advertisers, and even our employers present each day, enabling bad actors to easily manipulate them to promote their own agendas. In How Charts Lie , data visualization expert Alberto Cairo teaches us to not only spot the lies in deceptive visuals, but also to take advantage of good ones to understand complex stories. Public conversations are increasingly propelled by numbers, and to make sense of them we must be able to decode and use visual information. By examining contemporary examples ranging from election-result infographics to global GDP maps and box-office record charts, How Charts Lie demystifies an essential new literacy, one that will make us better equipped to navigate our data-driven world. 175 illustrations Review: Should be required reading - This was one of the most enjoyable books I've ever read on data visualization. In this compact volume, Alberto lays out the foundations of 'graphicacy' -- essentially literacy for charts and graphs. The book is broken up into easily digestible sections and written with succinct and precise language, making it an absolute joy to read. Unlike other technical books, I never felt bogged down when reading, and the structure allows you to sit down, take 10 minutes to read a section or two, and come back to it later--perfect for people that are busy and easily distracted (like myself). The book is filled with important and practical advice on how to read and interpret charts and graphs. Not only does it cover the techniques that disingenuous chart makers can use to deceive, but also the mistakes and misinterpretations that even well-educated folks make when reading charts. In the era of mis- and disinformation, when data is quickly becoming a lingua franca, this book is more important than ever, and should be considered required reading for high school students (and adults!) the world over. But while the book is certainly aimed at the layperson, there's valuable information even for seasoned dataviz practitioners. I had an education in science and mathematics, and now I work full time as a researcher/data analyst/dataviz expert and I still found the book quite useful as a summary of common numerical and graphical misconceptions. I learned new information, and I found the book an excellent refresher. TLDR - A top notch book for anyone wanting to be a more informed person. Buy this book, you'll be glad you did. Review: Cairo review - A perfectly timed book, and an accessible one - Alberto Cairo’s latest seems perfectly timed considering the current state of news, media and politics. The book targets itself more to the average consumer of charts rather than data viz professionals, and to that end it contains a lot of examples from politics starting off with variations on the 2016 presidential voting map. It’s a good example to kick off the discussion as it demonstrates in various ways how charts can deceive. The rest of the book is broken down into different ways that charts can lie—either intentionally or not—leaving the reader with the ultimate takeaway to be skeptical of everything. The more successful examples are the ones—like the presidential voting maps—that show the same data presented in different ways. While any data viz pro will recognize a lot of expected topics, there is still some very good in depth coverage of Y-axes, scales, shading, data defining, and omission of data. All covered with accessible and understandable examples—some we’ve seen before and many we haven’t. As always with the author, the book is thoroughly researched and well-notated with an excellent bibliography. If there is a criticism, it might be in the production values of the book. Unlike Cairo’s previous works printed in full, glossy color, this is a 2-color production that forces you to focus more on the words really than the charts. Add to this the smaller form factor, and some of the charts printed all in shades of red and black can be a little hard to read at times. Ultimately the mood feels more academic than previous books, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Definitely worth adding to the bookshelf! ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #879,387 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #23 in Communications #28 in Media Studies (Books) #38 in Business Statistics | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 450 Reviews | ## Images ![How Charts Lie: Getting Smarter about Visual Information - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51NbkOBbsML.jpg) ## Available Options This product comes in different **Media Format** options. ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Should be required reading *by W***E on April 27, 2020* This was one of the most enjoyable books I've ever read on data visualization. In this compact volume, Alberto lays out the foundations of 'graphicacy' -- essentially literacy for charts and graphs. The book is broken up into easily digestible sections and written with succinct and precise language, making it an absolute joy to read. Unlike other technical books, I never felt bogged down when reading, and the structure allows you to sit down, take 10 minutes to read a section or two, and come back to it later--perfect for people that are busy and easily distracted (like myself). The book is filled with important and practical advice on how to read and interpret charts and graphs. Not only does it cover the techniques that disingenuous chart makers can use to deceive, but also the mistakes and misinterpretations that even well-educated folks make when reading charts. In the era of mis- and disinformation, when data is quickly becoming a lingua franca, this book is more important than ever, and should be considered required reading for high school students (and adults!) the world over. But while the book is certainly aimed at the layperson, there's valuable information even for seasoned dataviz practitioners. I had an education in science and mathematics, and now I work full time as a researcher/data analyst/dataviz expert and I still found the book quite useful as a summary of common numerical and graphical misconceptions. I learned new information, and I found the book an excellent refresher. TLDR - A top notch book for anyone wanting to be a more informed person. Buy this book, you'll be glad you did. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Cairo review - A perfectly timed book, and an accessible one *by N***S on October 25, 2019* Alberto Cairo’s latest seems perfectly timed considering the current state of news, media and politics. The book targets itself more to the average consumer of charts rather than data viz professionals, and to that end it contains a lot of examples from politics starting off with variations on the 2016 presidential voting map. It’s a good example to kick off the discussion as it demonstrates in various ways how charts can deceive. The rest of the book is broken down into different ways that charts can lie—either intentionally or not—leaving the reader with the ultimate takeaway to be skeptical of everything. The more successful examples are the ones—like the presidential voting maps—that show the same data presented in different ways. While any data viz pro will recognize a lot of expected topics, there is still some very good in depth coverage of Y-axes, scales, shading, data defining, and omission of data. All covered with accessible and understandable examples—some we’ve seen before and many we haven’t. As always with the author, the book is thoroughly researched and well-notated with an excellent bibliography. If there is a criticism, it might be in the production values of the book. Unlike Cairo’s previous works printed in full, glossy color, this is a 2-color production that forces you to focus more on the words really than the charts. Add to this the smaller form factor, and some of the charts printed all in shades of red and black can be a little hard to read at times. Ultimately the mood feels more academic than previous books, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Definitely worth adding to the bookshelf! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ An Important Lesson for Scientists *by J***R on November 5, 2019* More excellence in data visualization and communicating insights from one of the world's best teachers on the topic. Alberto's humanities-based approach: telling stories about data and explaining things in a way non-scientists can understand. While not as earth-shaking as his foundational texts "The Functional Art" and "The Truthful Art," as a veteran of several of his classes and lectures, I think one of the best lessons of this book is a hidden one - at some point, Alberto changed the title from being a shot at the cheeto to something more long lasting and less specifically tied to this era. In channeling his emotions and irritation with the cheeto into a more universal and less intimidating presentation (at least for some), he has brought in more people. More importantly, he has also taught us as scientists to control our emotions and personal views in a profound way. So yes, read this book and ALL the others by Alberto Cairo. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.no/products/165027555-how-charts-lie-getting-smarter-about-visual-information](https://www.desertcart.no/products/165027555-how-charts-lie-getting-smarter-about-visual-information) --- *Product available on Desertcart Norway* *Store origin: NO* *Last updated: 2026-10-26*