Customer Reviews

Computational Statistics (Wiley Series in Probability and Statistics)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

One of the best books I have had for Computational Statistics. Has almost all topics required for statistical computing. Includes a solid theoretical background at the introductory graduate level, so anyone not possessing this background should beware - since they can find the material a little overwhelming. But if you are comfortable, say, at the level of Casella/Berger or Hogg/Craig, you will be more than thrilled at this volume.

I am sure as purely reference material this book is great. However attempting to learn the material for the first time using this book is as useful as staring at a brick for hours on end. Instead of stepping through the material slowly with lots of examples the book focuses on the theoretical approach and leaves lots of derivations of formulas out, under the assumption they are already well known to the reader. Thus more time is spent online and in other textbooks figuring out what the author just did or what he means certain symbols or terms then is spent reading the actual book. Again if you were a statistics graduate student having majored in statistics as an undergraduate this book would be perfect, probably. If however you are a math major and have only taken basic statistics the book is pretty arcane.

This review is about the material quality of the printing in the copy I received. This is not about the content.

I have access to a real copy of this edition in the local library. It is the usual high quality hardcover: it has a matte cover with texture, beautifully bound; the paper inside is high-quality, very soft and slightly off-white; and the printing of the text is very sharp. The version I received from Amazon claimed to be exactly the same, but was very different:
- The hardcover was shiny, did not have texture, and had a natural tendency to bend strongly outwards, it even cannot stay opened if I leave it alone, it will close.
- The paper inside is whiter, horribly white, like standard printing A4 paper;
- The text printing looks like a cheap photocopy of the original. It don't even match a home laser printer. Some formulas are difficult to read. Moreover, some pages are not even centered.

It looks and feels like a cheap knock-off photocopy done in a garage. When I pay a lot of money for a hardcover edition I want the real thing, not a cheap knock-off. Authors should avoid their work being degraded with this cheap printing.

The book was in great condition as for the book itself I do not feel that is very informative. not very detailed you need a strong background in the area to be able to understand the book.

but the seller was reliable in sending the book it took about the entire time to get here so if you need it quick you may want to go with someone else. but if you can wait a few days great place to purchase the book.

I have an undergrad in computers and math and am half way through with my MS in Statistics. I have never had a book that I considered this bad. The explanations are bad, the examples are bad, and the problems are bad. There is no use to owning this book, short of using it to kill bugs. Even then you would probably want a larger book, in order to have a better chance of getting the quick ones.