Review by Choice Review
If one is looking for a nonthreatening introduction to the basic concepts of statistics, then this cartoon guide will serve admirably. Klein (cartoonist) and Dabney (Texas A&M) lead readers carefully through the ideas of graphical appearances, averages and spread, the central limit theorem, and inference with short descriptive captions, while the accompanying cartoons provide lighthearted background illustrations supporting the principles at hand. It is certainly fun seeing data gathering tied to truckloads of random rhinos, confidence intervals related to expressions of hatred between aliens on two neighboring planets, and hypothesis testing tied to the speed comparisons of spotted and striped flying pigs. However, accuracy is never sacrificed. In general, the book first illustrates each statistical concept by a humor-injected example, but ultimately brings the traditional vocabulary into play so that integrity is maintained. Most chapter titles serve well to identify which concept is being explored, while occasional titles like "Monster Mistakes" or "Smackdown" inject a bit of intrigue and fun. "The Math Cave" serves as an appendix, including more formal descriptions and formulas, but a reader interested in statistical computations will need to supplement this cartoon guide with more standard references. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers and lower-division undergraduates in nonmathematics disciplines. N. W. Schillow formerly, Lehigh Carbon Community College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
You've gotta give it to comics-creator Klein. He's entirely undaunted by the dreariest subject matter. In two volumes of The Cartoon Introduction to Economics, he (and economist Yoram Bauman) made the dismal science sorta festive. Now, with the help of statistician Dabney, he makes statistics pretty painless, too for instance, by relegating mathematical explanations and details to the all-too-appropriately named appendix, The Math Cave! (every time math is mentioned in the main text, someone runs away, screaming). Amusing exemplary setups trying to ascertain the number of fish in a lake or the average length of the worms used to catch them afford wisecracking opportunities, while the book's first half outlines random sampling, generating descriptions of the data in the sample, and checking for mistakes. Using such tools as the central limit theorem, inference via probability calculations, and testing hypotheses to get to confidently drawn conclusions is the meat of the second half (the wisecracks continue, fortunately). Stressing that what statistics aims for is probability, not certainty, this is a nifty reference and refresher.--Olson, Ray Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A gentle, pleasantly illustrated induction into the strange world of bell curves and chi squares. If you're numerate enough to comprehend statistics, then is a cartoon approach to the subject necessary? Sure. As graphic artist Klein (The Cartoon Introduction to Economics, 2012, etc.) and Dabney (Statistics/Texas AM Univ.) note, statistics are everywhere--in sports, finance, government, the weather and just about every aspect of life--and knowing how to make use of them affords us the ability "to make confident statements." Turning to standard deviations, sampling distributions, probabilities and all the other stuff of the statistician's art, Klein and Dabney ably show how these "confident statements" are put to use, among others, by politicians, who extrapolate from the numbers to make policy decisions. There would seem, in that regard, to be a 90 percent likelihood that one of the politicians they lampoon is the balloonlike Newt Gingrich, who is no stranger to confident if errant statements of presumed fact. One central fact to which the authors return often is that "the more averages you pile up, the more normal-shaped the pile tends to become," that normal shape being, yes, the bell curve, "the most beautiful shape in all of statistics." Though the results are likely to yield that normal shape regardless, then, this is one reason careful statisticians prefer large and random samples. There is some inevitable simplification here--as they note, "in practiceconditions are often more complex"--but Klein and Dabney give a smart, enjoyable overview of this most useful branch of mathematics. Well-suited to middle and high schoolers as well as to adults seeking to brush up their statistical skills without breaking a sweat.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
