NB. I was sent this book as a review copy. In addition, I lent this book to a student studying statistics, as I thought that it would be more interesting for them to let me know how much they get out of it. This is the review by Singalakha Menziwa, one of our extremely bright first year students.

From Princeton University Press

All the tools you need to understand chance, the insight of statistics at base, and more complex levels. Statistics is not just about substituting into the correct formulae but requires understanding of what the numbers mean. Counting rules and Statistical inference were two of the topics I struggled with, especially the logic behind statistical inference, but this book provided great insight and explanations regarding these topics with a step by step procedure and gave enough interesting exercises. Miller’s goal when writing the book was to introduce students to the material through lots of accurately done, in depth worked examples and some fascinating coding for those who want to get more practical, to have a lot of conversations about not just why equations and theorems are true, but why they have the form they do. I found this to be consistent throughout the chapters of this book.

Understanding the truth of something and how to prove statistical relationships makes it more likely that one uses these relationships correctly or even discover new relationships amongst the vast areas of statistics.

I recommend the book to everyone who is studying and fascinated by statistics, there is great insight that has been invested into this book. Miller highlights at great lengths the methods and techniques behind proofs not just to accept them as they come. The book is designed to be used either as a supplement to any standard probability book, or as the primary textbook.

Whenever you understand some chapters of statistics and want to extend your knowledge, this is the PERFECT book you are looking for, but if you struggle with some concepts, well this textbook is your lifesaver. Miller will solve your problems as if he is explaining them right next to you… Weird, right? Well is just the way the book is written, its conversational. Furthermore, there is a pack of links for some useful videos to watch.

Brief History of the Author

Steven J. Miller, a mathematics professor who earned his B.S. in mathematics and physics from Yale, moved on to and got a Ph.D. in mathematics from Princeton, and has since been affiliated with Princeton, NYU and the American Institute of Mathematics. His main research interests are in  number theory and probability, though he also does a lot of applied mathematics projects in a variety of fields, especially sabermetrics (the art/science of applying mathematics and statistics to baseball).

Review by Singalakha Menziwa