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Rating: 
Summary: Essentials++
Review: I used this book to prepare for the probability and combinatorics sections of a Discrete Math exam, so my comments only involve the corresponding parts of the book.The cover says, "All the essentials in one clear volume", and yes, it does seem to cover the essentials. Of note however, and why I'm writing this review, is that the book also offers some interesting C & C++ code snippets which relate to selected statistics problems. These may be of interest to some students trying to learn these languages along with statistics. Also noteworthy is that Appendix 2 offers a table of statistical functions available in Microsoft Excel, which many of us may not have been aware of.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the best statistics/probability books for Joe Public
Review: I've bought a number of books dealing with probability (and statistics), ranging from the dense erudite mega-tome to the layman's explanation. This is the best I've seen of the latter variety. There are a few typos and errata, but the simplicity and clarity of the approach makes up for it. Set theory is kept to a minimum, as many would wish it to be. Other books I recommend are REA's Problem Solvers Probability and Fifty Challenging Problems in Probability (although it also has some errata).
Rating: 
Summary: Not as easy as the title of the book promises
Review: Mr. Downing's explanations are messy and attempt to reach a very diverse audience of readers. It addresses the mathematically proficient and the mathematically challenged as if that would not produce confusion for at least one group. I bought this book with the goal of getting a clear introduction to statistics. This book didn't do it for me. This book doesn't have the answers to all the exercises. Some of the exercises require that you write a program in BASIC or C++. You need to have a good grasp algebra, calculus, EXCEL, BASIC and C++ if you want to get the most out of this book.
Rating:
Summary: Another confusing run through stats...
Review: There has to be a book SOMEWHERE that describes statistics for the layman. Again, this is not it.
Rating:
Summary: Another confusing run through stats...
Review: This book teaches you, at an elementary level, how statistical formulas are derived and how they are used. This book will be especially useful for people with limited knowledge in calculus.
Without using much calculus, nearly every formulas are presented with very readable proofs (e.g., derivation of multinomial formula, derivation of Poisson distribution formula, derivation of moment generating functions, derivation of Chi-square distribution formula, proof of Markov's inequality, proof of Chebyshev's inequality, proof of central limit theorem, and many many others).
If you are unhappy with other statistics books that merely show you formulas and make you plug in numbers, or books written in mathematics beyond your education, then this book is for you. Read the introduction and you will get an idea. It is an amazing piece of pedagogic work.
There are, however, many typos in the book (I found 30 typos and reported to publisher). Further, there is no web site for errata correction. If it were not for errata, I would have given 5 stars.
If you find this book too elementary for you, I would recommend "An introduction to mathematical statistics and its applications, 3rd Edition, Larson & Marx", which was the textbook for an introductory statistics course that I took.
Rating:
Summary: In-depth explanation in elementary mathematics
Review: This book teaches you, at an elementary level, how statistical formulas are derived and how they are used. You do not need to be mathematics savvy. All you need is calculus background. Nearly every formulas are presented with very readable proofs (e.g., derivation of multinomial formula, derivation of Poisson distribution formula, derivation of moment generating functions, derivation of Chi-square distribution formula, proof of Markov's inequality, proof of Chebyshev's inequality, proof of central limit theorem, and many many others). If you are unhappy with other statistics books that merely show you formulas and make you plug in numbers, or with books written in mathematics beyond your education, then this book is for you. Read the introduction and you will get an idea. It is an amazing piece of pedagogic work. There are, however, many typos in the book (I found 30 typos and reported to publisher). Further, there is no web site for errata correction. If it were not for errata, I would have given 5 stars. If you find this book is too elementary for you, I would recommend "Probability and Statistics" by DeGroot and Schervish.
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