Mathematical Statistics and Data Analysis Textbook with CD Data Sets - Probability Theory, Statistical Methods & Data Science for Students & Researchers | Perfect for College Courses, Self-Study & Research Projects

This book is an introductory-level statistics textbook for people who are learning statistics for the first time, and who know some math but are not math wizards.I am outright shocked at the low reviews given to this book. I tend to be highly critical of statistics textbooks, especially ones at this level. In my opinion, this book does an outstanding job. It balances making the material accessible with going into considerable depth, and it integrates mathematical theory with an emphasis on data analysis. The title of this book says it all: "Mathematical Statistics and Data Analysis". There are few other books that emphasize both theory and practice. This book certainly lives up to its title in this respect.Perhaps some of the bad reviews are from frustrated students who are in classes that are moving too quickly for their level. Just because this is an excellent book doesn't mean that every professor will use it in an appropriate way. The exercises in this book can be tough and I think it would be possible to easily overwhelm students by assigning too many problems or problems that are too difficult. This book is only really useful if you are able to explore it at a slower pace, reading it and reflecting on it.---This book is not concise but it is not overly wordy. Rice is an excellent writer. The expanded discussion communicates aspects of the subject that are often overlooked, and helps build the students' intuition. This book is always readable and it is clearly written to be read and understood. In addition to communicating basic concepts, the book also explores numerous practical and philosophical considerations. For a book at such an introductory level, this text is remarkably deep.One of the most attractive aspects of this book is that it is relatively easy to skip around in it. More advanced students or students with some exposure to probability will necessarily want to skip many of the early chapters. Unlike some of the more advanced texts (such as the Casella and Berger) where the chapters depend on and reference each other in a rather rigid fashion, this book is more flexible and thus can appeal to students with diverse backgrounds.My last bit of praise is the integration of data analysis with mathematical theory. Distributions are introduced with a rich discussion of where, how, and why they arise in practice. Data analysis techniques, tests, and abstract definitions alike are introduced in such a way that they are rooted both to the abstract theory and to consideration of applications: this book is one of the rare texts that fully bridges the gap between the real world and the abstract models used to describe it.I would recommend this book for a wide variety of different uses. This would make an outstanding textbook and it could easily be used for more than one course, or for courses at more than one level. It is a useful book to have on the shelf as a basic reference, and it is also very useful for self-study. My only complaint is that more books in the field of statistics are not written in the spirit and style of this one. In particular, I would like to see authors of more advanced books examine this book's strengths and use them to enhance their own writing. Or perhaps John Rice ought to try his hand at writing a higher-level text; I know I would be eager to see what he could produce!