Free E-book Showcases Essays by Well-Known Academics

Redlands, California—October 8, 2008— Essays on Geography and GIS, the latest offering from the Best Practices series published by geographic information system (GIS) software developer ESRI, is a collection of essays written by many of the top academics in the fields of geography and GIS technology. Previously published individually in the company’s ArcNews magazine, the collection of articles provides insight into the power of spatial thinking.

The 10 articles in the book include The Fourth R? Rethinking GIS Education by Michael F. Goodchild, professor of geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara; Dynamics GIS: Recognizing the Dynamic Nature of Reality by May Yuan, associate dean at the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences at the University of Oklahoma; Bring Back Geography! by Jerome E. Dobson, president of the American Geographical Society; and Exploration in the Age of Digital Earth by Dawn J. Wright, professor of geography and oceanography at Oregon State University.

Thomas K. Miller, editor in chief of ArcNews magazine, says, “We are pleased to make available in one easy-to-access document these recent articles by academicians and scientists dealing with trends in geography, geospatial matters, and GIS. The original publication in ArcNews of these invited articles has had a tremendous ‘ripple effect,’ affirming, inspiring, and stimulating many students and professionals in both the academic and GIS communities.”

Adds George Dailey, ESRI’s K–12 Education Program manager, “This compilation is a wonderful blend of articles from distinguished authors peering into the intersection of geography and technology and their relevance and importance to our present and future in many walks of life. Individually, each essay provides compelling ideas and approaches, and as a collection, they offer the reader a call to reflection and action. This is a must read for anyone involved with GIS and geography education across numerous disciplines.”

Essays on Geography and GIS is available for download at no cost.

Begun two years ago, ESRI’s Best Practices series now contains more than 30 e-books that cover a wide range of topics in GIS. Visit the GIS Best Practices Web site at www.esri.com/bestpractices to explore the list of offerings and download your copy free of charge.

About ESRI

Since 1969, ESRI has been giving customers around the world the power to think and plan geographically. The market leader in GIS, ESRI software is used in more than 300,000 organizations worldwide including each of the 200 largest cities in the United States, most national governments, more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 7,000 colleges and universities. ESRI applications, running on more than one million desktops and thousands of Web and enterprise servers, provide the backbone for the world’s mapping and spatial analysis. ESRI is the only vendor that provides complete technical solutions for desktop, mobile, server, and Internet platforms. Visit us at www.esri.com.


Contact:

Jim Baumann, ESRI
Tel.: 909-793-2853, extension 1-1807
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