Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

I quite enjoyed The Lady Tasting Tea: How Statistics Revolutionized Science in the Twentieth Century by David Salsburg. It's a historical view of the development of modern statistics.

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

I quite enjoyed The Lady Tasting Tea: How Statistics Revolutionized Science in the Twentieth Century by David Salsburg. It's a historical view of the development of modern statistics.

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

This one may be more combinatoric than statistical, but the short story The Library of Babel by Jorge Luis Borges is a good read that ties together mathematics, language, and the universe. And even though the story is only ~20 pages long, there's been an entire book written on the mathematics contained in it (The Unimaginable Mathematics of Borges' Library of Babel by William Goldbloom Bloch).

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

Wow, thank you, everyone! Look at all of these recommendations. I'm writing them all down. (I hope folks following the conversation quietly are finding some of them interesting, too!)

I've read a couple of the books you've mentioned, and they've been fascinating and enlightening. (So far, I make a point of grabbing at least one stats-related book to take along with me to each JSM and reading them on the flights back and forth--though I find, strangely enough, I don't get much reading done during the actual conference itself...)

I'm curious--were there any books, popular or otherwise, that helped lead you to working in statistics as a field? Or books you've seen open other people's eyes to the possibilities of statistics as a field, to the potential and possibilities of statistical thinking? I know sometimes these transformative books can be surprising, unexpected ones.

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

Aloha! Recommending two books under a coconut tree on the beach:

How to Lie with Statistics

How to Lie with Statistics

The Cartoon Guide to Statistics

The Cartoon Guide to Statistics

Aloha! Recommending two books under a coconut tree on the beach:

How to Lie with Statistics

How to Lie with Statistics

The Cartoon Guide to Statistics

The Cartoon Guide to Statistics

Wow, thank you, everyone! Look at all of these recommendations. I'm writing them all down. (I hope folks following the conversation quietly are finding some of them interesting, too!)

I've read a couple of the books you've mentioned, and they've been fascinating and enlightening. (So far, I make a point of grabbing at least one stats-related book to take along with me to each JSM and reading them on the flights back and forth--though I find, strangely enough, I don't get much reading done during the actual conference itself...)

I'm curious--were there any books, popular or otherwise, that helped lead you to working in statistics as a field? Or books you've seen open other people's eyes to the possibilities of statistics as a field, to the potential and possibilities of statistical thinking? I know sometimes these transformative books can be surprising, unexpected ones.

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

And let's not forget about Erich L. Lehmann's last book (published posthumously, I believe):

Fisher, Neyman, and the Creation of Classical Statistics

Wow, thank you, everyone! Look at all of these recommendations. I'm writing them all down. (I hope folks following the conversation quietly are finding some of them interesting, too!)

I've read a couple of the books you've mentioned, and they've been fascinating and enlightening. (So far, I make a point of grabbing at least one stats-related book to take along with me to each JSM and reading them on the flights back and forth--though I find, strangely enough, I don't get much reading done during the actual conference itself...)

I'm curious--were there any books, popular or otherwise, that helped lead you to working in statistics as a field? Or books you've seen open other people's eyes to the possibilities of statistics as a field, to the potential and possibilities of statistical thinking? I know sometimes these transformative books can be surprising, unexpected ones.

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

Erich Lehman's book "The Company I've Kept" (I think that's the correct title) is a very interesting memoir.

And let's not forget about Erich L. Lehmann's last book (published posthumously, I believe):

Fisher, Neyman, and the Creation of Classical Statistics

Wow, thank you, everyone! Look at all of these recommendations. I'm writing them all down. (I hope folks following the conversation quietly are finding some of them interesting, too!)

I've read a couple of the books you've mentioned, and they've been fascinating and enlightening. (So far, I make a point of grabbing at least one stats-related book to take along with me to each JSM and reading them on the flights back and forth--though I find, strangely enough, I don't get much reading done during the actual conference itself...)

I'm curious--were there any books, popular or otherwise, that helped lead you to working in statistics as a field? Or books you've seen open other people's eyes to the possibilities of statistics as a field, to the potential and possibilities of statistical thinking? I know sometimes these transformative books can be surprising, unexpected ones.

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

Wow, thank you, everyone! Look at all of these recommendations. I'm writing them all down. (I hope folks following the conversation quietly are finding some of them interesting, too!)

I've read a couple of the books you've mentioned, and they've been fascinating and enlightening. (So far, I make a point of grabbing at least one stats-related book to take along with me to each JSM and reading them on the flights back and forth--though I find, strangely enough, I don't get much reading done during the actual conference itself...)

I'm curious--were there any books, popular or otherwise, that helped lead you to working in statistics as a field? Or books you've seen open other people's eyes to the possibilities of statistics as a field, to the potential and possibilities of statistical thinking? I know sometimes these transformative books can be surprising, unexpected ones.

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

Lara

I second many of the books listed, but to address your second post, while I came at stats out of necessity for my work I'd say:

An Introduction to Information Theory: Symbols, Signals and Noise
John R. Pierce

and subsequently

The Mathematical Theory of Communication

Claude Shannon

were the ones that really pushed me towards in interest in pure data science (although that's not what I do specifically).  

But if you're looking for a bit of both, in the event you haven't read it:

How to Lie with Statistics - Darrell Huff

I've probably bought and distributed around 20 copies since reading it. Sixty years old and still 100% relevant.

Jamie

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

I recommend

Sex by Numbers: What Statistics Can Tell Us About Sexual Behaviour

by David Spiegelhalter

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

After looking back through all of your suggestions, I'm curious--do you read stats-related books as members of any book clubs or book discussion groups? Including online discussion groups, such as through Goodreads or Google Groups or other services? (I was just taking a look at Goodreads list of books most commonly tagged as "statistics," which includes a number of books suggested in this conversation: <https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/statistics>.)

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

Has anyone read Uncertainty: The Soul of Modeling, Probablity, and Statistics?  I'm interested in it, but don't have the time.

Uncertainty: The Soul of Modeling, Probability & Statistics

After looking back through all of your suggestions, I'm curious--do you read stats-related books as members of any book clubs or book discussion groups? Including online discussion groups, such as through Goodreads or Google Groups or other services? (I was just taking a look at Goodreads list of books most commonly tagged as "statistics," which includes a number of books suggested in this conversation: <https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/statistics>.)

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

What! Has no one mentioned Sharon McGrayne's The Theory That Would Not Die, The Theory That Would Not Die: How Bayes' Rule Cracked the Enigma Code, Hunted Down Russian Submarines, and Emerged Triumphant from Two Centuries of Controversy

Actually, that was last summer's best stats beach reads (this summer: Stigler's Seven Pillars of Statistical Wisdom). In spite of the hyper-hyperbolic title, I learned a lot of interesting tidbits about Laplace, J. W. Tukey and others in this story. I read it on my Kindle, and found some very useful stuff recorded in my highlights when I later gave a brief presentation on history of Bayesian thought.

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

I have not read Stigler's book yet, but I have been assuming that the title, rather than being hyperbolic, was

somehow a play on words relative to T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia)'s autobiography. 

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

Over the last 5 decades of the statistical studies and research, I found the following books refreshing readings:

1. How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff and Illustrated by Irving Geis- WW Norton, New York, Paperback Reissue, 1993.

2. Anti-Chance: A Reply to Monod's Chance and the Necessity by E. Schoffeniels and T. Swain- Kindle Edition of Pergamon Press, New York, 1976.

3. The Best of the Journal of Irreproducible Results Compiled by G.H. Scherr (Selected from the Now-defunct? The Journal of Irreproducible Results)- Workman Publishing Co., New York, 1983.

4. What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Questions by R. Munroe- Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co., New York, 2014.

All of the above books are available from Amazon, both used and new, priced from $0.01-$20.00!  Because of moving my books between two different locations, it took me a while to find them.  So I am late.  There have been a lot of books written by mathematicians and statisticians that expose various flaws and follies in scientific reasoning that are also fun to read. Have fun and thank the authors while reading them!

Ajit K. Thakur, Ph.D.

Retired Statistician

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?

Health Technology Assessment: Using Biostatistics to Break the Barriers of Adopting New Medicines - a CRC Press Book

Okay, so self promotion is not my strength, but consider reading a book on stats for health technology assessments and comparative effectiveness research for making decisions to fund drugs in managed plans.  

The book is optional for a few grad healthcare courses, and has been used for internal rounds at a few drug companies that I know of. and don't worry about my $5 royalty.

rob hopkins 

Mcmaster University

Okay, so stats-related books and 'beach reads' might not have that much overlap--but some books that deal with statistics and statistical concepts *are* a lighter read than others. As the summer draws to an end, did you pick up any stats-related pleasure reads this summer? Any you would recommend?