Mather seems to have based this book on a course he offers at Nottingham University, a hotbed of quantitative and computer-oriented geography for the past two decades. It is a good textbook for an introductory course in computer applications leading to more advanced work in computer cartography, geographic statistics (surveys and spatial measures), remote sensing, and geographic information systems.

Topics covered include the definition of computers, operating systems, programming languages, and so on; geographical data including spatial data, DIME, and digital line graphs; univariate and multivariate statistical methods (including trend surfaces); computer cartography; remote sensing and image processing; simulation; and geographic information systems (GIS). Each section presents basic concepts in an appealing semiformal manner and gives some representative applications. The book contains many well-designed figures. The examples are eclectic (hardly any are British) and show real data, commands, and outputs for specific programs. The software for the examples is SPSS (statistics), GIMMS (GIS), and SYMAP (maps). A world countries data matrix and a set of outline coordinates for the countries of Africa are used in many examples and appear as appendices. The review copy did not include it, but the preface says these data are available on disk.

I am usually suspicious of a book that starts “A computer is…” and then goes on to advanced topics, especially when the target audience may include computerphobes. It is a challenge to accommodate the spectrum from the absolute beginner to the student who, although new to academic geography, has been a hacker since age 14 (12? 10? 8? What’s the lower limit these days?). Mather deals well with these tensions: geography versus computing, physical versus human geography, and novice versus expert. The common denominator is low enough that few will be mystified and turned off, while the pace should suit those with some experience.

This book is for you if you are computer- and quantitative-literate and want to learn what geographers do with computers, or if you are a geography student with a yen to get into computing. It is not for the total neophyte with no backup, because it goes by pretty fast and each topic introduces puzzles and related topics that require extra study or assistance. From the instructor’s viewpoint, the puzzles are valuable because they can be turned into exercises, essays, and further reading, and the related topics tie together the subfields of geography suited to exploration with computers. This text is worth considering.