I'm thinking that this book is one of the last on cartography that doesn't really get into GIS. It was very academic - many theoretical or exploratory ideas about cartography that would never be used in a commercial or governmental setting. It could have been enhanced by bringing more ideas about good graphic design - I think the authors were too cautious in this regard. They were careful to avoid anything that smacked of unsupported opinion - any ideas about perception and preferences were backed up by supporting evidence - valuable, but I think they had real ideas about what makes a great map and were somewhat coy in this regard.
It was little awkward with the color plates being in the back of the book, but probably necessary to keep costs down. Otherwise, it was a comprehensive, well organized text.