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Rating: 
Summary: Worth a Careful Reading
Review: Although old this is still the best book to learn the core ideas of this subject, especially what information "entropy" really means. I read Ash's book, and followed the proofs, but I didn't really grasp the ideas until I read this.The book is geared towards non-mathematicians, but it is not just a tour. Pierce tackles the main ideas just not all the techniques and special cases. Perfect for: anyone in science, linguistics, or engineering. Very good for: everyone else.
Rating: 
Summary: Best Beginners Book EVER! Pierce is Great.
Review: Claude Shannon died last year, and it's really disgraceful that his name is not a household word in the manner of Einstein and Newton. He really WAS the Isaac Newton of communications theory, and his master's thesis on Boolean logic applied to circuits is probably the most cited ever. This is the ONLY book of which I am aware which attempts to present Shannon's results to the educated lay reader, and Pierce does a crackerjack job of it. Notwithstanding, this is not a book for the casual reader. The ideas underlying the theory are inherently subtle and mathematical, although there are numerous practical manifestations of them in nature, and in human "information transmission" behavior. On the other hand, this is a work which repays all effort invested in its mastery many times over.
Rating:
Summary: An Absolute Gem
Review: Claude Shannon died last year, and it's really disgraceful that his name is not a household word in the manner of Einstein and Newton. He really WAS the Isaac Newton of communications theory, and his master's thesis on Boolean logic applied to circuits is probably the most cited ever. This is the ONLY book of which I am aware which attempts to present Shannon's results to the educated lay reader, and Pierce does a crackerjack job of it. Notwithstanding, this is not a book for the casual reader. The ideas underlying the theory are inherently subtle and mathematical, although there are numerous practical manifestations of them in nature, and in human "information transmission" behavior. On the other hand, this is a work which repays all effort invested in its mastery many times over.
Rating:
Summary: Best Beginners Book EVER! Pierce is Great.
Review: First off, I am a very tough grade. I never give more than 3 stars unless a book is exceptional. This book is THE FINEST introductory book every written on information theory!! ... (Lemme explain briefly: In the golden era of information theory, there were many people who sought to "jump on the information theory bandwagon". In fact Claude Shannon actually wrote a brief paper about that. You had all kinds of people trying to apply information theory to the fields of investments and even psychology, ad nauseum. This book has chapters that deal with that... With respect to Pierce, it's junk bogus science... and he really shouldn't have sunk to that level.... even thought there continue to be many Thesis and Dissertations today which still try to use information theory to justify economics and group psychology... Believe that stuff if it makes you happy). This book is practical, it get's straight to the point and tells you what information theory can actually (and is actually) used for. Alot of information theory books don't
have any practical value whatsoever (Reza, Ash, Khinchin) as they seem to be written more by mathemeticians than scientists/engineers... Pierce has written several books in the golden era, and he is one of the very best authors. His insight, knowledge and clarity of writing are almost unparalleled by no other author. Only Claude Shannon, Bernard Sklar and James Massey rival John Pierce in exceptionally simple writing style. The book has very few mathematical equations. The ones he presents are so simple it's basic middle school mathematics. In lieiu of math equations, Pierce explains information theory in plain english. If you know nothing whatsoever about information theory... this is the book I would highly recommend first.... ...
Rating:
Summary: information theory that doesn't scare you away
Review: Pierce is a very talented educator, and this book demonstrates his ability to take a very deep subject, information and communication theory, and disect it into small, bite-size pieces that don't bite back. i think the best researchers should be able to explain things in the simplest and most intuitive way possible, and Pierce is a clear winner. however, this book is quite old, especially due to the pace of progress in information and coding theory in the past decade. however, this book also gives an excellent overview of the historical development of information theory, which is something that a lot of other books miss.
Rating:
Summary: Worth a Careful Reading
Review: Pierce is an accomplished scientist/engineer, and was influential in the development of information theory/signal processing. This book has some mathematics, but lays a solid qualitative foundation for understanding the material. This book is a classic, good for computer engineers/scientists (as is his book Signals: The Science of Telecommunications). The presentation is accessible, and first hand accounts of important discoveries motivates a real appreciation for Pierce's contributions. However, the clarity of the presentation tends to obscure just how profound and deep the thinking involved really is. During the first reading, Pierce's insights made the material seem almost obvious. Later I would get doubts that such straightforward approaches could be correct, and then would think about the correctness of his assertions. This is why this is a great book, because it focuses on important stuff, and doesn't shy away from deep topics. This is a great book for those interested in the basis of information theory, on a side note Shannon's original papers are also quite readable.
Rating:
Summary: Best Introduction
Review: Though first printed in 1961 and revised in 1980 this is the best introduction to information theory there is. Very easy to read and light on math, just as an introduction should be. I expect it will be in print for a very, very long time.
Rating:
Summary: A good Book
Review: Without scaring the reader through complex mathematics from page 1, Pierce introduces the subject in an intutive manner, which is the main strength of the Book. Any student interested in studying communication theory without being scared away, should study this book first
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