GIS Fundamentals: A First Text on Geographic Information Systems, Sixth Edition Sixth Edition

I've been using GIS and related tech for over 25 years, and teaching GIS for almost 10. Most intro-level GIS texts are what' I'd call "procedural", meaning they aim to walk you through specific skills and as such most books are built around a specific software suite, normally ESRI ArcGIS. While this is good for getting students up and running with some GIS skills, what is often lacking is good explanation of the context and the "why" of the procedures.This book has exceptionally detailed and mostly very good explanation of the background and the "why" of GIS topics and is completely agnostic as to what GIS software you use. The amount of material in the book should keep most undergraduates busy for a full academic year (2 semesters or 3 quarters). And, there would also need to be external resources for the hand-on GIS software learning.I bought the book to study for a GIS licensing exam and it's a great resource for that. I teach with ArcGIS and have developed many labs and exercises over the years, so if I was to offer a full-year sequence for undergrads (of grad students), I'd definitely consider using this book for a course taught at a demanding and rigorous level.So bottom line: I'd say this book is a bit more than "fundamentals" and while it doesn't offer much at all in terms of hands-on material, the background detail is an excellent way to help make sure that GIS students don't treat GIS as a "black box" with no understanding of the theory and principles behind what they are doing.

Got this book as recommended by my GIS certification course, goes into detail on basics of GIS fairly well. I will say that sometimes I find the writing style to be a little disorienting/ confusing. Overall I think they book is great for learning GIS. It May also be a great option for current GIS professionals as you can bookmark chapters for quick points of reference for more complex topics.

I am 67 years old, and still working and learning. I was recently exposed to some mapping software that my leaders wanted me too learn. I adapted well to the software but felt like there were many fundamentals that I just did not know. After reading this book, I see that Professor Bolstad not only knows his discipline, but knows how to teach. I have tried to learn from many books off the shelf, and not everyone is as good a writer or teacher as they probably are a practitioner. Dr. Bolstad clearly knows how to explain a subject at just the correct level (of abstraction) so that one can understand the point of the concept. I'd recommend to anyone who needs a firm foundation in GIS.

Great book! I have previous experience in remote sensing and Geography but I needed this book for a class on GIS/RS of Archaeology and Paleontology. Great information! Explanation was always very clear.The only downside with these kind of books is you always need the newest version. This is not one of the books you can save money on by buying an earlier edition. GIS is a relatively new science and is updating every year so it is crucial to have the latest edition. You may be able to get away with an edition one year later but I wouldn't recommend trying. This book is affordable and good quality.

Overall this is an excellent textbook. The book is massive at over 700 pages, and thereby covers a vast breadth of information about GIS. The author included plenty of diagrams, review questions (with some answers), and examples of how GIS works. The writing is clear and everything is explained; even the modeling and complicated processes do not seem terrible after the author breaks them down. My only complaint is that the index leaves something to be desired especially for such a massive book. For instance, the entry for "latitude" claims that this only shows up on pages 30, 31, and 105 (in a 700 page book about GIS, mind you), while "metadata" gets the absurd listing of pages 188 - 633. This makes it difficult to find information if you do not already know where to look for it.

It was a new book. Came on time helped my husband pass his class. Exactly the book that was required for class.

You don't really need them but access the color version of this book with the access code that comes with it. Full of good stuff. Don't need prior knowledge to succeed with it.