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Title: Interactive and Animated Cartography by Michael P. Peterson ISBN: 0-13-079104-0 Publisher: Pearson Education POD Pub. Date: 02 February, 1995 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $84.00

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Average Customer Rating: 5 (1 review)

Rating: 5
Summary: Review by Michael Folkolff
Comment: This book details the author's vision of the evolution of cartography taking into consideration developments in computer technology and software. Peterson argues persuasively that in the future mapping will integrate GIS, remote sensing, and computer graphic techniques with multimedia software and Internet information capabilities. The computer itself will become the principal medium for map compilation and display. Map reproducation will be specifically for the computer rather than such reproduction using a CRT as an intermediary between the virtual map and hardcopy. Maps will be compiled interactively by the reader and will include both traditional maps and tabular data as well as a reliance on video tape loops and animation processes. The use of animation processes will provide a new dimension for representing spatial information that, for some purposes, will be superior to current static maps. Map data will be stored in a variety of formats that can be compiled in many different ways depending on the preference of the map reader. Map compilation will no longer be a linear process guided by the rigid procedure leading to a single paper product. Instead the map reader will choose the information to be displayed and the method for displaying the final form from a menu of options. The final product will concentrate on the transmission of information to the reader rather than on the map itself. Nevertheless, Peterson is a realist and does not altogether discount the need for paper maps.

The book fulfills the author's objective of presenting a probable next stage in the development of cartogrpahy. He describes a wide range of disparate software and hardware that are currently used in geography, from desktop mapping systems to statistical packages, and shows their potential for use when integrated with cartography. His software examples are from both DOS and MAC systems befitting a vision of the future where boundaries between software types should be less restrictive. The strength of the presentation is the integration of a wide variety of software and hardward for cartographic applications. The book was published in 1995 and already there are elements of Peterson's vision that can be found on the Internet and in available software.

The book is well written and easy to read. As a textbook, its strength is that the book has a distinct objective and goal, explaining interactive and animated cartography. It offers the student a vision of the future. Many texts have an encyclopedic feel, presenting information on what is and what was. It is refreshing for an author to look to the future: a future which will indeed be the world of the student.