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First Course in Probability and Statistics. By J. NEYMAN. Henry Holt and Company, New York. 350 pages, illus. 1950. • guage and notation of the mature mathematical reaatr tio ol t reacquaintance awarilthythe t P a t usrs coam Nwehiylo hnaans lNYONE NsY tia etOsi ssNot sw statistician; the beginner need not let this deter him. The vocabulary and symbolism must be naturally statistics learned sometime by a prospective statistician and ment of this subject, combined with a style of it may as well be at the start of his career. The writing that makes it come very much to life on exposition is clear and is accompanied by many the printed pages. He will not be disappointed. examples and exercises. Biologists should be deMoreover, this book is unique among its fellows in lighted to learn that a chapter of 67 pages is dethat statistics is presented as a branch of Probavoted to probabilistic problems of genetics, and bility Theory. that other applications to biological statistics apAccording to the preface, it is intended as a text pear throughout. for " (i) students who would like to take just one As is to be expected from the title, the book is course in mathematical statistics for purposes of • primarily an exposition of probability theory, with general education, (ii) prospective future matheprobability defined as a relative frequency, tomatical statisticians and (iii) students who spegether with applications of that theory to the gencialize or intend to specialize in one of the fields eral problem of testing hypotheses and some typiof application and need mathematical statistics as cal problems encountered in laboratory experimena useful tool in their own studies." He visualizes tation and in sampling. The concepts underlying the first two categories as being freshmen or sophodecision functions play a prominent part and the mores, and the third as consisting of senior or power of a test is given adequate attention. Congraduate students who have more extensive mathesiderable material ordinarily given in texts on matical training and a more mature viewpoint. mathematical statistics is not even mentioned, conIt seems to this reviewer that those in the first sequently there is here no threat to the demand category would find the book rather heavy going, for such treatises. Most statistical taxonomists will but if they will expend the necessary effort, they doubtless classify it as a book on probability rather ill be rewarded by an insight into the fundathan on statistics per se. At the same time, it conentals of statistical thinking that can hardly be tains much that ought to be included in texts on obtained from any other current work on elemenmathematical statistics but seldom is. tary mathematical statistics. But, human nature This reviewer recommends the book highly to being as it is, many will probably continue to prereaders of this journal who have the wish and the fer a more superficial survey of a larger variety of fortitude to get at the heart of the subject. It is statistical techniques to a searching examination of not easy fare ; anyone seeking a pablum, one that the foundations upon which those techniques rest. will impose no strain on his digestive processes will Professor Neyman's presentation of probability not find it here. But, for that matter, he will not theory, although restricted to the viewpoint of find it anywhere else either. probability "as a mathematical model of relative frequencies, observable in a long series of trials," Walter A. Hendricks is excellent. He does not hesitate to use the lan- A w 37