D. R. CoxCambridge University PressEdition: Illustrated, 8/10/2006EAN 9780521685672, ISBN10: 0521685672Paperback, 236 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 1.3 cmLanguage: EnglishIn this definitive book, D. R. Cox gives a comprehensive and balanced appraisal of statistical inference. He develops the key concepts, describing and comparing the main ideas and controversies over foundational issues that have been keenly argued for more than two-hundred years. Continuing a sixty-year career of major contributions to statistical thought, no one is better placed to give this much-needed account of the field. An appendix gives a more personal assessment of the merits of different ideas. The content ranges from the traditional to the contemporary. While specific applications are not treated, the book is strongly motivated by applications across the sciences and associated technologies. The mathematics is kept as elementary as feasible, though previous knowledge of statistics is assumed. The book will be valued by every user or student of statistics who is serious about understanding the uncertainty inherent in conclusions from statistical analyses.Preface1. Preliminaries2. Some concepts and simple applications3. Significance tests4. More complicated situations5. Some interpretational issues6. Asymptotic theory7. Further aspects of maximum likelihood8. Additional objectives9. Randomization-based analysisAppendix A. A brief historyAppendix B. A personal viewReferencesAuthor indexIndex.'A deep and beautifully elegant overview of statistical inference, from one of the towering figures who created modern statistics. This book should be essential reading for all who call themselves 'statistician'.' David Hand, Imperial College London