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Rating: 
Summary: well written introductory text
Review: Bernard Rosner is a Harvard Professor of Biostatistics. He has written an introductory text for undergraduate and graduate medical school students. It covers the basics of probability and inference including categorical data. Other topics include regression, correlation and survival analysis. It is written for students with no math beyond high school algebra but common mathematical notation is freely used. It includes a diskette with data for examples. Many examples are given to illustrate the concepts and SAS ouput is used to illustrate the results and familiarize the students so that they can interpret statistical output. Many exercises are given at the end of each chapter. Several require use of the data sets on the diskette. I think the author has been careful to try to make the subject understandable to medical students. He also has used the lectures notes that were the basis of the text in courses he taught in the Harvard Medical School. So he knows his audience. A unique feature is the catergorizing of exercises by medical specialty.Rosner tries to fill an important need and does a good job. He avoids heavy mathematics without turning the text into a cookbook. This is now the fourth edition. So many improvements have been made. I gave it 4 stars. It probably deserves 4 and 1/2 stars. ....
Rating: 
Summary: If you really want to learn statistics, this is the book!
Review: I used this book while pursuing my master's degree in epidemiology. I really enjoyed it and as a result, today I'm pursuing my DrPH in biostatistics. If you are really into understanding statistics, this is your book. If you are only interested in passing a course and surviving the ODDS, I refer you to Daniels' book, it's simpler and lets just say...less complicated.
Rating:
Summary: Flawed Text
Review: I'm taking my 1st biostatistics course in medical school, and the class is using this text. I find the book easy to comprehend in the beginning chapters, but as soon as Rosner starts to explain estimation, t-distribution, etc, it lost me.
From Chapter 6 onward, Rosner is relying too much on mathematics to explain the statistical concepts, while he does not explain the math. In other words, the concepts are never throughly explained.
I used to be a professional engineer, and I consider myself good at math, so I honestly cannot imagine someone with a weaker math background can understand what Rosner is trying to say.
Rating: 
Summary: Check the local library then buy it!
Review: If you want a biostatistics text that is difficult to read, poorly laid out and impossible to understand I suggest you buy this book. I did and returned it quickly. A reference text that is better suited for the beginner and serious student would be the Dawson-Saunder, Trapp text Basic & Clinical Biostatistics, 1st or 2nd edition
Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive introduction to biostatistics
Review: This book isn't for everyone, but if you want a wide ranging textbook with a little more mathematical detail than the other intro books, this is a great choice. Rosner explains concepts well and with many examples that help the reader to understand them. The flowcharts at the back of the book were written to help readers choose the right test for the right situation, and these are extremely valuable. The only problem with the book is that it is sometimes hard to sit down and read it without any preparation (e.g., lecture or prior knowledge).
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