I accepted the challenge of reviewing this book because I had no real prior knowledge of geographic information systems (GIS) other than anecdotal, and I desired to learn about the field. I found it quite pleasant to read. The editors/authors stood up to the challenge well! This is a well-referenced university-level textbook on GIS principles, with many case studies. It contains some real nuggets of wisdom and knowledge.

The book examines in a new way the entire concept of GIS use. It is not highly academic and has real practical value. Well-known standards and methodologies are discussed.

If there is one strong criticism of the book, it is what appears to me to be a too narrow viewpoint of how extremely useful the technologies and methods are. Basically, the book is talking about crime. Crime has three views today: pre-crime, post-crime, and professional (long-term) crime. The authors examine superbly the issue of post-crime and the use of GIS in court--albeit they are pretty specific as to US courts. (The lack of internationalization is a small issue.) I am not convinced that GIS is the best method for opportunistic crimes or crimes of passion. However, as far as I am aware, the biggest crime issues today--certainly the most covered in the media--are drugs and terrorism. Both of these have at least one thing in common: they are always committed by people who are committed to these crimes as a way of life. As a matter of fact, as far as I am aware, a very large portion of the international drug trade has been taken over by major terrorist organizations. This generates a vast proportion of their revenues. As such, the smart use of GIS--as I gleaned from reading this book--can prevent crimes dealing with habitual/professional offenders. Unfortunately, the authors failed in this respect. Nonetheless, this is an excellent book as far as it goes. If indeed it is a first of its kind, then it is to be highly admired for a job well done.

The book is divided into two parts. Part 1, “Fundamentals: Definitions, Concepts, Theories, and Principles,” discusses fundamental concepts. I strongly recommend this part to beginners. It is well written, well referenced, and well constructed. It is logical and one can easily read it in a coffee shop with pleasure. Part 2, “Case Studies,” consists of nine case studies. Once again, they are well written. It is unlikely that the casual reader will desire to read them all, but the GIS professional would do himself/herself a service by gaining familiarity with the entire set.

This well-written book reads smoothly. I both admire and recommend it, though not strongly. It is clearly the best--and maybe the first of its kind. Like many such firsts, there is still much to be learned--exactly why this crazy field of ours is so much fun.