I'm really looking forward to living in London. Some time ago, I looked at this page on Edward Tufte's site about Harry Beck's London Underground Map. Tufte praises Harry Beck's map, but adds:
The Underground Map and Minard's famous Carte Figurative of the French Army's disaster in Russia in the war of 1812 are alike in important respects: both are brilliant, and neither travels well. The Underground Map and Napoleon's March are perfectly attuned to their particular data, so focused on their data sets. They do not serve, then, as good practical generic architectures for design; indeed, revisions and knock-offs have usually been corruptions or parodies of the originals. Both, however, exemplify the deep principles of information design in operation, as well as the craft and passion behind great information displays.
Tufte also praises Mr Beck's Underground Map by Ken Garland:
Looking that up on Amazon (UK) linked me to:
The Way Out Tube Map, Roger Collings
What's in a Name?: Origins of Station Names on the London Underground, Cyril M Harris
London's Disused Underground Stations, J E Connor
The London Underground: a diagrammatic history, Douglas Rose
One Stop Short of Barking: Uncovering the London Underground, Mecca Ibrahim
Underground Maps After Beck, Maxwell J Roberts
London's Lost Tube Schemes, Antony Badsey-Ellis
Subterranean City: Beneath the Streets of London, Antony Clayton
The Subterranean Railway: How the London Underground Was Built and How It Changed the City Forever, Christian Wolmar
Blimey.
Technorati tags: London, underground, the tube, railways, maps, mapping, Tufte
