The Minard System

If you have any interest in information graphics, maps, or history, you knowof the seminal flow map of Napoleon's 1812 march into Russia by Charles-Joseph Minard, made famous by Edward Tufte, and considered to be one ofthe most magnificent data graphics ever produced. The Minard Systemexplores the nineteenth-century civil engineer's career and the story behindthis masterpiece of multivariate data, as well as sixty of Minard's otherstatistical graphics reflecting social and economic changes of the IndustrialRevolution in Europe and around the world. These stunning drawings arefrom the collection of the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees in Parisand have never before been published in their entirety.

Sandra Rendgen is an author and editor with a focus on informationgraphics, interactive media, and the history of information visualization.Based in Berlin, Germany, she studied art history and cultural theory andis the co-author of Information Graphics and Understanding the World:The Atlas of Infographics.

Editorial Reviews

GeekDad

Anyone interested in history, maps, or how information is displayed will find The Minard System fascinating...If you're a lover of visual data, I can't recommend this book enough. Its large form factor allows for close study of Minard's visuals, and the notations and translations that accompany each help put them into context.

Mental Floss

You may not know his name, but if you're a fan of infographics, you've probably come across Charles-Joseph Minard's work before...The Napoleon's March to Moscow map, published a year before Minard's 1870 death, may be the singular work that has made the engineer famous to a contemporary audience of data visualization nerds, but it was the culmination of a long career developing an oeuvre of similarly detailed visualizations. A new book, The Minard System: The Complete Statistical Graphics of Charles-Joseph Minard, highlights the many lesser-known infographics Minard created throughout his career.

Living Maps Review

a thoughtful, beautifully produced book, and a fitting encomium to a pioneer of non-Euclidean cartography. It is a highly accessible portal into Minard's oeuvre which is equally likely to appeal to cartographic professionals and the wider public.

Living Maps Review

Rendgen's The Minard System is a thoughtful, beautifully produced book, and a fitting encomium to a pioneer of non-Euclidean cartography. It is a highly accessible portal into Minard's oeuvre which is equally likely to appeal to cartographic professionals and the wider public.

Arquitectura Viva

We were already familiar with some of Minard's mythical drawings--such as the one of Hannibal's crossing of the Alps and Napoleon's Russian campaign, reproduced on the cover--through the classic books of Edward Tufte, a Yale professor who has been a pioneer in the field of data visualization, but a complete collection of Minard's graphics is a bibliographic gem.