Rating: 
Summary: Good book!
Review: If you don't have the background of SAS programming. You should read this book. If you have the background of C/C++ and SQL, you will find SAS is very easy to learn.
I spend less time learning SAS concepts when I read this book. In part 1, the author reviews the basic concepts of statistics when running sas. This is very easy to understand!
In part 2, he mentions how to infile the large data in the sas environment. You don't have to type all the data in the sas enviroment in the beginning. It is very useful.
I think this is a good book for beginners who want to know what SAS programming is. I hope the author still can write the book about advanced SAS programming .
Rating:
Summary: If only these guys worked for SAS
Review: In short, this is THE book to have if you are a regular person who needs to use SAS. While most SAS applications are a nightmare for all but the full-time statistician/SAS user, this well-written book makes things seem pretty easy. It includes some useful background material on statistical procedures as well as references for the more inquiring mind. This is an essential companion for SAS in the real-world. SAS would do well to take on some of the suggestions in this book.
Rating:
Summary: The best work often is done in simple ways
Review: Many, if not all Microsoft Windows user, are familiar with so-called defragmentation of hard drive. This Applied Statistics and SAS programming book by Ron is just such a defragmentator for a heavy SAS user like myself. I don't think anyone can find many tips, tricks or shortcuts in this book in terms of learning statistics and SAS. In practice, more often than not, I have to do "whatever is necessary" with SAS to get my analytical assignment done. Over time my touch upon SAS becomes "fragmented". No matter how well I organize notes and template, my statistical thought with SAS becomes muddy. This book has repeatedly set me back straight. I have read many SAS books by so-called pros. This is one of the few that has elegant verse and still makes technical points in simply ways. I don't often see a technical book having a dictionary quality like this one.
Rating: 
Summary: A once great book whose time has passed
Review: Once upon a time, I could not recommend this book highly enough. That's the problem--"once upon a time". In 2004, this book violates what I consider an overriding consideration for instruction books: Never distract the new user with picky details that s/he'll will rarely need in practice. The first few chapters are written using INPUT and DATALINES; commands to enter data. For those unfamiliar with SAS, that means the authors enter all of their data as lines of text typed inside their command language. No one works that way any more! It's a hold over from the days of punchcards. Does the new user really need to know that
INPUT ID 1-3 AGE 4-5 GENDER $6;
means "look in columns 1-3 for a numerical id, columns 4-5 for numerical age, and column 6 for a character designating gender"? When the 4-th edition was written, the answer might have been yes, but even then it would have been given grudgingly. For more than a few years, data almost always arrive as data sets that have already been made into SAS files or as spreadsheets that can be imported directly into SAS. This method of data input would not be a fatal flaw if the material were in a later chapter or an appendix, but it's woven throughout the text starting with the first example on page 3. I would love to see this book updated with a more modern view to how data are processed and analyzed, but I can no longer recommend it in its current form.
Rating:
Summary: A once great book whose time has passed
Review: Once upon a time, I could not recommend this book highly enough. That's the problem--"once upon a time". In 2004, this book violates what I consider an overriding consideration for instruction books: Never distract the new user with picky details that s/he'll will rarely need in practice. The first few chapters are written using INPUT and DATALINES; commands to enter data. For those unfamiliar with SAS, that means the authors enter all of their data as lines of text typed inside their command language. No one works that way any more! It's a hold over from the days of punchcards. Does the new user really need to know that
INPUT ID 1-3 AGE 4-5 GENDER $6;
means "look in columns 1-3 for a numerical id, columns 4-5 for numerical age, and column 6 for a character designating gender"? When the 4-th edition was written, the answer might have been yes, but even then it would have been given grudgingly. For more than a few years, data almost always arrive as data sets that have already been made into SAS files or as spreadsheets that can be imported directly into SAS. This method of data input would not be a fatal flaw if the material were in a later chapter or an appendix, but it's woven throughout the text starting with the first example on page 3. I would love to see this book updated with a more modern view to how data are processed and analyzed, but I can no longer recommend it in its current form.
Rating:
Summary: A once great book whose time has passed
Review: Once upon a time, I could not recommend this book highly enough. That's the problem--"once upon a time". In 2004, this book violates what I consider an overriding consideration for instruction books: Never distract the new user with picky details that s/he'll will rarely need in practice. The first few chapters are written using INPUT and DATALINES; commands to enter data. For those unfamiliar with SAS, that means the authors enter all of their data as lines of text typed inside their command language. No one works that way any more! It's a hold over from the days of punchcards. Does the new user really need to know that
INPUT ID 1-3 AGE 4-5 GENDER $6;
means "look in columns 1-3 for a numerical id, columns 4-5 for numerical age, and column 6 for a character designating gender"? When the 4-th edition was written, the answer might have been yes, but even then it would have been given grudgingly. For more than a few years, data almost always arrive as data sets that have already been made into SAS files or as spreadsheets that can be imported directly into SAS. This method of data input would not be a fatal flaw if the material were in a later chapter or an appendix, but it's woven throughout the text starting with the first example on page 3. I would love to see this book updated with a more modern view to how data are processed and analyzed, but I can no longer recommend it in its current form.
Rating:
Summary: an excellent SAS intro
Review: One of the most heavily used reference books in my office...this is very well written for a programming book. The authors use case examples for illustrating the different programming techniques, which makes it very easily understood by the layman. If you have a basic understanding of statistical techniques such as ANOVAs and t-tests this book will allow you to use SAS fairly easily.
Rating:
Summary: Very pleased!
Review: Received my book very quickly and in excellent condition! Thanks!
Rating: 
Summary: excellent guide to useful applications of SAS
Review: SAS is and data management and statistical analysis tool that is extremely popular in industry especially in medical device and pharmaceutical companies. SAS manuals are very good at providing users who have some statistical knowledge with guidance toward the use of various porcedures. Statistical texts often provide users of statistical methods with the necessary basic knowledge. However there are few texts that do both. A trend is developing to introduce basic and advanced statistical methods illustrated through the use of statistical software (particularly SAS). This book does a great job of presenting many applied problems and demonstrating the implementation of the analysis in SAS.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book for the novice and the experienced.
Review: This book provides an excellent introduction to SAS. It melds both the techniques of using the program with the application of it to statistical analysis. As an experienced researcher who has never used SAS, the examples and procedures were clearly described and logically presented. I believe this would be an excellent adjunct to any statistics course. The authors write well and add a touch of humor which departs from the usual arrogance of expertise found in many of the SAS publications that I have seen. I recommend it.
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