|  | Authors: David Freedman, Robert Pisani, Roger Purves
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co.
Buy Used: $80.29
as of 11/22/2009 20:07 CST details
New (31) Used (45) from $80.29
Seller: hpb-dallas
Rating:  29 reviews
Sales Rank: 28420
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 4th
Pages: 720
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.9
Dimensions (in): 10.4 x 7.4 x 1.6
ISBN: 0393929728
Dewey Decimal Number: 519.5
EAN: 9780393929720
ASIN: 0393929728
Publication Date: February 13, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Minor shelf wear, minor scuffs and scratches on cover, marks on cover, text only no additional materials included, 4th edition.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 16-20 of 29
 Statistics by David Freedman May 14, 2004
Amanda Cunningham Rud (Indianapolis, IN)
5 out of 14 found this review helpful
Useful book. Lots of helpful examples. Don't really need any extra stats resources (like a workbook) if you buy this.
Great Intro Book for Non-Math/Stat Majors February 19, 2003
bliss
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
I expected this to be dry and mechanical like lots of other math texts - too-technical proofs, homework questions irrelevant to the material, insufficient explanations for why things are the way they are. This book really surprised me because it wasn't "mathy" at all. It doesn't just throw proofs at you expecting you to wade thru page upon page of math notation until you understand - it gives you the intuitive side of important concepts, which means you only need common sense, not an intensive mathematical background to get everything. The examples they picked simplify rather than confuse the concepts. Each easily and naturally leads to the next. If there's anything not thoroughly elaborated, they were sure to cover it in the homework questions, by gently prodding the reader along towards the answer step by step instead of smacking them in the face with impossible problems. Homework questions supplement the material perfectly and basically leave you with a full and well-rounded impression of what the concepts mean as well as when and why to use them, not just how to plug numbers into some formula.
If anything, I'd say this book errs on the side of caution in that in some sections it could pick up the pace a little. But then again, you could always just skip the easier parts.
Nothing Better -Nothing even comes close December 1, 2002
18 out of 20 found this review helpful
This is not merely the best introductory statistics text, it is in a sense the only one. So far as I know all the others (which were inferior before) have gone "computer." Students are taught how to solve problems on the computer which means they never learn statistics at all. I have taught introductory statistics for many years and my contempt for the other texts increases year by year. Apparently publishers demand that texts be "computerized" and the authors have been too spineless to resist. I would like to add that I suspect that most instructors who have used the other texts exclusively would have a tough time with some questions which students of this book would answer with ease.
Excellent text March 18, 2002
J. Verkuilen (New York, NY United States)
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
I taught an introductory statistics course with this book two years ago. I have to say that *I* learned a great deal preparing for class as I read it--there is a lot of insight and intuition here that you won't generally find anywhere else. Teaching out of it is tough, though, because you don't have the math to hide behind. For those of us used to math, formulas can be a comforting thing. For most students, they're usually just intimidating and the object of many blank stares. IMO, for students who will take only one class in statistics, learning out of this book would be very helpful in a way many other books would not be. For students who will take more than one, gaining a strong conceptual foundation will be helpful as well. My guess is that the students complaining about this book don't know how good they've got it. You could be stuck with a book that focuses on how to do statistics with Excel or the like, in which case you'll basically learn nothing of subsequent value. :)
A good start.. July 20, 2001
Drew Balazs (Indianola, WA United States)
115 out of 120 found this review helpful
If you are looking for a good (non-technical i.e. not involving higher math) introduction to statistics, this is the book for you. As a TA at Cal (Berkeley..Go Bears!), I worked for Roger Purves (one of the authors of the book) and I taught out of this book. Needless to say, I got to know the book rather well. I highly recommend it. However, if you are looking for a slightly more advanced introduction to statistics/probability, I would suggest something along the lines of Probability by Jim Pitman or Mathematical Statistics and Data Analysis by John Rice. If you are really serious about probability theory, you might want to try Statistical Inference - by G. Casella and R.L. Berger.
Showing reviews 16-20 of 29
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