In this insightful book, you'll learn from the best data practitioners in the field just how wide-ranging -- and beautiful -- working with data can be. Join 39 contributors as they explain how they developed simple and elegant solutions on projects ranging from the Mars lander to a Radiohead video.

With Beautiful Data, you will:

* Explore the opportunities and challenges involved in working with the vast number of datasets made available by the Web
* Learn how to visualize trends in urban crime, using maps and data mashups
* Discover the challenges of designing a data processing system that works within the constraints of space travel
* Learn how crowdsourcing and transparency have combined to advance the state of drug research
* Understand how new data can automatically trigger alerts when it matches or overlaps pre-existing data
* Learn about the massive infrastructure required to create, capture, and process DNA data