The history of visualization deserves a separate book, as it is really fascinating how the field has matured over the centuries, and it is still growing very strongly. Michael Friendly, from York University, published a historical development paper that is freely available online, titled Milestones in History of Data Visualization: A Case Study in Statistical Historiography. This is an entertaining compilation of the history of visualization methods.

The book The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward R. Tufte published by Graphics Press USA, is an excellent resource and a must-read for every data visualization practitioner. This is a classic book on the theory and practice of data graphics and visualization. Since we will not have the space to discuss the theory of visualization, the interested reader can consider reading this book for deeper insights.