The Modern Web: Multi-Device Web Development with HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript
By Peter Gasston
The target audience for this book is the person who wants to get involved in building websites, web applications, and packaged HTML hybrid applications that work intelligently on browsers across devices. The book presumes the reader has working knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. While the basics of these technologies are not covered, their new and near-future capabilities are described in detail. This no-nonsense book provides clear explanations and practical examples that show how these technologies are implemented on devices ranging from tiny phone screens to giant HDTVs. Techniques and best practices help developers anticipate and deal with the challenges of displaying content across multiple devices despite quirky browsers and constantly changing technologies. As GIS has expanded, many GIS professionals who have been focused on applications for the desktop now find themselves involved in the development of applications for the web and mobile devices. This lucidly written book can help get them quickly up to speed. No Starch Press, 2013, 264 pp., ISBN:978-1593274870
History and GIS
Edited by Alexander von Lünen and Charles Travis
While the use of GIS for economic and social history, historical geography, and particularly ancient history has become widespread, mainstream historians have made little use of the technology as a research tool. This collection of papers explores why this is the case. The editors posit that most historians are not convinced the intellectual benefit justifies the commitment needed to overcome the technological challenges. Contributors provide their answers to the question “why historians should use GIS”, rather than discussing how to use GIS for historical research. Dr. Alexander von Lünen is a geography research fellow at the University of Portmouth, Hampshire, UK. Dr. Charles Travis received a doctorate in historical-cultural geography from Trinity College Dublin and is a postdoctoral research fellow with the Trinity Long Room Hub. Springer, 2013, 256 pp., ISBN:978-9400750081
On the Map: A Mind Expanding Exploration of the Way the World Looks
By Simon Garfield
Thanks to the digital revolution, we are living in the most transformative age of cartography. “More people use more maps than at any time in history,” observed the author, Simon Garfield, in this exuberant and erudite book that outlines the history of our relationship with maps. This collection of stories about maps provide fascinating insights into the people who made them and the times in which they lived. They demonstrate how maps, once impressively large, expensive, and rare, have become small, inexpensive, and pervasive but remain vitally important for what they tell us about ourselves. “For when we gaze at a map—any map, in any format, from any era—we still find nothing so much as history and ourselves.” Gotham, 2012, 464 pp., ISBN: 978-1592407798
