Shin Takahashi

I'd like to give it a 4 because I think the approach can be effective and I really liked the characters. But, it falls short on being a truly good introduction to linear algebra. It should have taken a much more straightforward approach to explaining the examples and should have stuck with the manga style all the way through instead of mixing in some straight ahead textbook style instructional pages.

Used this book to brush up on the basics for my advanced stats class. I wanted something light and fun to read along with my lectures and this was perfect. If you're starting with stats, you may have to read the book at least twice to understand the concepts fully and catch the finer prints you missed the first time.

The Manga Guide to Statistics attempts to present basic statistical concepts in a graphic novel format. At times, the book necessarily gets sidetracked in lengthy explanations of calculations, but I think the story-telling technique stands a good chance of helping visually-oriented learners. The earliest chapters of the book are appropriate for students as early as middle school, while later topics like hypothesis testing aren't typically seen until undergraduate statistics classes.

'The intent here is definitely not to offer a full treatment of statistics, but rather an everyday understanding of the underpinnings of concepts found at this level--and for the pertinent audience, especially high school students or undergraduates struggling with basic statistical notions, it succeeds. ' N. W. Schillow Lehigh Carbon Community College. Choice 4/1/2009