Handbook of Statistical Distributions with Applications

muchhistorical scholarshipwasof anarrative form and that the recent availability of mapping techniques allows the development of a geographic or spatial aspect to the discipline. The book comprises an introductory paper followed by nine essays which are presented either as a pure casestudy or as a methodological perspective on the topic. The five case-studies are concerned with mapping of ancient China, the extent and severity of the 1930 dust bowl in the American mid-West, mapping settlement and land use patterns in 17thcentury Massachusetts, routes and measurement systems in ancient Rome and a study of the terrain surrounding Gettysburg at the time of the American Civil War battle. This list shows that historical GISs can be applied to a wide range of geographical scales, from empires to the hills surrounding a small town. Inevitably the case-studies are of a specialized nature. The remaining methodological essays, however, have the potential to be more widely appreciated. The first methodological essay is on the philosophy of teaching history by using a GIS from a non-technical, liberal arts, perspective. This essay uses a range of case-studies to illustrate how to initiate analysis and to develop problem solving skills, how to engage students, where to locate data and how to form and test hypotheses. The second essay is a technical introduction to the principles of GISs showing how to integrate data from different spatial geographies (areal weighting) and how to assess spatial correlation empirically. This essay also includes an introduction to geographically weighted regression. The third essay shows how spatial and temporal information can be used to reveal patterns in historical data that are hidden from a one-dimensional perspective. An early example of such a presentation isMinard’s famous map showing Napoleon’s 1812–1813 attempt to capture Moscow, revealing correlations between temporal data (e.g. time of year) and spatial data (e.g. location and size of army). The final methodological essay reflects on what impact historical GISs may have on the whole of historical studies. The book also includes a compact disc containing four well-produced PowerPoint presentations accompanying thebook’s case-studies.Thesemight be a valuable teaching resource but it would have been better if this additional material were linked to the more general methodological essays of the book. The disc also contains a Java application (ArcExplorer) and some maps and data from the book that provide an opportunity for an interactive experience with the material. Fully accepting that this book is written for historians I do not think that this is the best material for someone who is interested in the mapping and statistical interpretation of spatial data (Ripley (2004) is a good book in this respect). The middle two methodological essays on the principles of GISs and on integrating spatial and temporal informationwouldbeof interest to thegeneral statistician but are ultimately unfulfilling.