This map by Charles Joseph Minard was the first map I wanted to post for this assignment because it is an outstanding example of depicting statistical information spatially. I found this particular image on the Wikipedia entry for Charles Joseph Minard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Joseph_Minard)
Minard creates this Thematic Map to depict the advance and retreat of Napoleon's Army as it marched into Russia to attempt to take Moscow. The use of different line thicknesses to represent the size of Napoleon's Army allows this map to help the viewer comprehend the staggering troop losses throughout the campaign. I originally saw this map in a book by Edward Tufte (The Visual Display of Quantitative Information) that my wife used for her Communication Studies research last year as she finished her Ph.D (forgive the obligatory spouse-bragging), and I liked the map from the moment I saw it - even though I don't speak any French, nor am I particularly interested in Napoleon. It's a stunning representation of the total loss of Napoleon's Army. (Note the graph on the bottom which shows the temperature at various points along the retreat. I feel cold, too.)
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