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Rating: 
Summary: An excellent book on the intellectual territory of GIS
Review: I like this book and I think it needs to be widely read. But, I believe that the title is misleading. There are many people who will read the title and think it is a simple or light introduction to GIS. It may be short, but it is neither simple nor light reading. Make no mistake, this is not "GIS for Dummies."This book is a highly intelligent discussion of some of the philosophical underpinnings of GIS. For anyone interested in or concerned about the social consequences of using geographic technologies to inform decisions that affect public welfare, this book is the place to start, whether they come from the GIS or human geography community. Chapter 1 does a fine job of introducing the context and content of GIS. Chapter 2 introduces the reader to the epistemology and ontologies of GIS. While this is an excellent overview of these topics, it is not for everyone. There are many in the GIS community who will not want to be introduced to the ontologies of space, no matter how important some of us feel it is. Chapter 3 introduces some of the problems with geographic and is one of the best discussion of GIS that I have read. Chapter 4 introduces the reader to what I feel is the heart of GIS, spatial analysis. This is an area that deserves several hundred pages, but the coverage here appropriate given the scope of the book. The last chapter discusses training and research. I would have preferred more emphasis on spatial literacy, but it does make the point of the importance of geographic science education. Software training is simply an inadequate basis for intelligent use of GIS. I recommend this book for all students in GIS degree programs. Also, it is an excellent beginning for those in the field of human geography or social theory who are interested in the applications of this new technology. Of course, anyone teaching GIS needs to have a clear understanding of the concepts presented in this book.
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