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Probability (Springer Texts in Statistics)

3.1 out of 5 stars 41 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0387979748
ISBN-10: 0387979743
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Product Details

  • Series: Springer Texts in Statistics
  • Hardcover: 560 pages
  • Publisher: Springer (May 21, 1999)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0387979743
  • ISBN-13: 978-0387979748
  • Product Dimensions: 1.5 x 8.5 x 9.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,097 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

Format: Hardcover
I would guess all the intensely negative reviews are from "pure-math" types. But, if you need to understand how to apply probability to some real-world problem, this book is for you.
I have never encountered such an easy-to-read description of probability. Also, there are absolutely great, intuitive examples which are non-trivial and easily extended. I completely disagree that this book encourages memorization -- rather, there are many examples which give both an intuitive/thinking-about-it solution and a formulaic solution.
Also, there are easy-to-find "rules" for probablisitic-type functions and operations which are very clearly explained and accompanied with non-trivial examples.
The notation may be a little clunky, but it is very easy to find the definitions and the index is reasonably complete. Also, there are several valuable appendicies. Oh, and there are solutions to odd-numbered excercises and solutions to mock-exams. What's not to like?
I would recommend this book to those who need to know probability for their non-pure-math discipline (i.e. physics, engieering, life sciences, etc.) but can't afford to invest the time in a full course (although I'm sure a course which uses this book would be a great asset, as well).
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Format: Hardcover
I used this textbook in an undergraduate class, and went back to it to study for SOA/CAS Exam 1/P. The examples and explanations were run of the mill, but the problems... wow.

There was a wide range of problems, in scope and in level of difficulty. They ranged from medium to hard to impossible. Some of the more memorable ones were research-level problems that required you to do a little bit of independent research on the internet, and the hardest problems could easily take you all day to solve. The problems were easily the strongest part of the book and you will learn the necessary concepts by solving them - the examples and explanations are really just there as a guide. I can attest to this because I did them ALL, 709 of them in total - a feat that took me roughly two months and enabled me to pass Exam 1/P with flying colors.

Overall, I found the explanations and examples to be less than top-notch, but the problems will really test you. Just make sure to work in groups and ask for help, and stick to problems that are relevant to the course (or exam) - otherwise the book can chew you up and spit you out.

P.S. This text does not have a section on moment-generating functions, so you'll have to find another source for that topic. Wikipedia has a good article on the subject.
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Format: Hardcover
Let me start off by saying that I come from a strong math background, and this textbook was for a class that was a required course towards my Math major, as an alternative to a regular statistics course. Pitman's approach assumes only a small amount of familiarity with Calculus, and is very clear throughout on how to solve the problems, with a great deal of examples on all topics as well. The language used in the book is very friendly and clear, which was very helpful in understanding the motivation and the way of thinking about solving probability problems. He also provides a summary of topics and important results at the end of each section/chapter, as well as a summary of the important distributions at the end of the text, which was extremely helpful when studying for exams.

All that being said, the book does fall short on mathematical rigor, and as it is generally used as an upper level math text, the mathematical rigor is an important factor to many professors. Pitman touches on the language of set theory, but avoids any more formality than that in favor of conversational explanations. I also found the book somewhat unorganized - rather than transitioning cleanly from discrete to continuous distributions, the author jumps into the standard normal curve as an "estimation" before finishing his discussion of how distributions work into probability in general, and what results is a very scattered treatment of the key topic in the course. He also leaves out the topic of generating functions (which were key in my course) entirely, and gives very little emphasis on the Central Limit Theorem, which is probably the most important theorem in the topic.

In short, this text is generally great for people outside of Mathematics who need a relatively easy introduction to the subject, but falls somewhat short as an advanced math text.
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Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
I bought this book for self-study so I could understand some material in radar signal processing, compressed sensing and chaotic signal processing. I am a former math major and I know that the more theoretical probability books stress mathematical rigor, but I wanted real-world examples. The presentation is sometimes not the most concise and the material is not necessarily organized in the most logical way, but what I needed is in there. I just wish that the answers to the even numbered problems were included.

If you are more interested in applied mathematics than pure mathematics this book should fill the bill as an introduction to probability.
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Format: Hardcover
I agree with the naysayers that this book does not give a thorough explanation in certain areas. However, for the average reader/student in engineering, life sciences, or economics, this book does its job. Straight and to the point. It gives you a good overview of all the probability that you will use.

If you are more interested in pure mathematics, this book is not for you.
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