Tufte's work should be required reading for everyone who produces information display of any kind, and also for those who are required to interpret the information displays of others. His books are beautifully produced by his own publishing company, making him one of the most successful self-publishers of all time I suspect. They are printed using the highest quality materials, with some sections passing through the printer as many as 23 times. In fact a hazard of reading the books is that the rich and fascinating illustrations tend to derail you from actually reading the text, and you find yourself just paging through to look at the pictures. The class covered a diverse array of topics, including information design, presentation skills, visualizations, presenting business data, etc.
Tufte is an excellent speaker, with a quick wit and sense of humor.
He kept the audience on the edge of their seats throughout the day. Future courses will be given in Atlanta in January, Austin, Dallas, and Boston in March, and Arlington Virginia in May of 2001.