The Cartoon Introduction to Statistics

Klein (The Cartoon Introduction to Economics, Volumes 1 and 2) is back at it once again, lending his art to this delightful introduction to statistics. This time he’s paired with Alan Dabney, a stats prof at Texas A&M, and the primer they’ve put together provides the uninitiated with a look at how a statistician thinks about numbers. The genius of the book is in its layout, with the straightforward explanation of introductory statistics occupying large text boxes, while the characters’ discussions, in smaller type font, provide the examples. The examples themselves are hilarious, whether in presenting a statistical analysis of how fast male and female Vikings ride dragons (to examine lurking variables) or using the character of Dr. Happy and her evil Poison Machine to talk about p-values and estimated sampling distributions. The challenge of such a book is always whether it can be engaging once the reader is confronted with more complex material. This is where the book’s layout pays dividends, however, since a reader struggling with a given concept can temporarily focus either on the big picture or the finer details. The book’s good humor, clear prose, and intelligent layout should give it a probability of success with its readers approaching 100%. (July)