Here are 74 books that Mismeasuring Schools' Vital Signs fans have personally recommended if you like Mismeasuring Schools' Vital Signs. Book DNA is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Computer Age Statistical Inference, Algorithms, Evidence, and Data Science

Ron S. Kenett Author Of The Real Work of Data Science: Turning Data into Information, Better Decisions, and Stronger Organizations

From my list on how numbers turn into information.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was trained as a mathematician but have always been motivated by problem-solving challenges. Statistics and analytics combine mathematical models with statistical thinking. My career has always focused on this combination and, as a statistician, you can apply it in a wide range of domains. The advent of big data and machine learning algorithms has opened up new opportunities for applied statisticians. This perspective complements computer science views on how to address data science. The Real Work of Data Science, covers 18 areas (18 chapters) that need to be pushed forward in order to turning data into information, better decisions, and stronger organizations

Ron's book list on how numbers turn into information

Ron S. Kenett Why Ron loves this book

The text covers classic statistical inference, early computer-age methods, and twenty-century topics. This puts a unique perspective on current analytic technologies labeled machine learning, artificial intelligence, and statical learning. The examples used provide a powerful description of the methods covered and the compare and contrast sections highlight the evolution of analytics. This book by Efron and Hastie is a natural follow-up source for readers interested in more details.

By Bradley Efron , Trevor Hastie ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Computer Age Statistical Inference, Algorithms, Evidence, and Data Science as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The twenty-first century has seen a breathtaking expansion of statistical methodology, both in scope and influence. 'Data science' and 'machine learning' have become familiar terms in the news, as statistical methods are brought to bear upon the enormous data sets of modern science and commerce. How did we get here? And where are we going? How does it all fit together? Now in paperback and fortified with exercises, this book delivers a concentrated course in modern statistical thinking. Beginning with classical inferential theories - Bayesian, frequentist, Fisherian - individual chapters take up a series of influential topics: survival analysis, logistic…


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Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Book cover of All-in On AI: How Smart Companies Win Big with Artificial Intelligence

Roger W. Hoerl Author Of Statistical Thinking: Improving Business Performance

From my list on AI and data science that are actually readable.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a professional statistician, I am naturally interested in AI and data science. However, in our current information age, everyone, in all segments of society, needs to understand the basics of AI and data science. These basics include such things as what these disciplines are, what they can contribute to society, and perhaps most importantly, what can go wrong. However, I have found that much of the literature on these topics is highly technical and beyond the reach of most readers. These books are specifically selected because they are readable by virtually everyone, and yet convey the key concepts needed to be data-literate in the 21st century. Enjoy!

Roger's book list on AI and data science that are actually readable

Roger W. Hoerl Why Roger loves this book

Books on AI often go to extremes, either promoting it as the solution to all the world’s problems, or depicting it as an evil that will destroy humanity.

This book is much more practical, and based on experience using AI in actual business applications. It is the result of considerable research, involving investigation of applications not only in silicon-valley, but from various business sectors, such as Airbus, Ping, Progressive Insurance, and Capital One Bank.

Don’t let the title fool you; this book is not simply a promotion of AI, but addresses the practical issues that have to be considered if success is to be achieved. For example, they argue that “the most important aspect in AI success is not machinery, but human leadership, behavior, and change.”

By Thomas H. Davenport , Nitin Mittal ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked All-in On AI as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A Wall Street Journal bestseller

A Publisher's Weekly bestseller

A fascinating look at the trailblazing companies using artificial intelligence to create new competitive advantage, from the author of the business classic, Competing on Analytics, and the head of Deloitte's US AI practice.

Though most organizations are placing modest bets on artificial intelligence, there is a world-class group of companies that are going all-in on the technology and radically transforming their products, processes, strategies, customer relationships, and cultures.

Though these organizations represent less than 1 percent of large companies, they are all high performers in their industries. They have better business…


Book cover of Python Polars

Wes McKinney Author Of Python for Data Analysis

From my list on Python books for leveling up your data skills.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am Wes McKinney, creator of the Python pandas project and author of Python for Data Analysis. I have been using Python for data work since 2007 and have worked extensively in the open source community to build accessible and fast data processing tools for Python programmers.

Wes' book list on Python books for leveling up your data skills

Wes McKinney Why Wes loves this book

Polars is a new modern data frame library, powered by Apache Arrow, that has grown like wildfire in the Python ecosystem in recent years. It provides many of the same capabilities as pandas, but with substantially better performance and scalability.

I recommend that Python programmers become proficient at both Polars and pandas, since while pandas is ubiquitous, more and more work will shift to Polars in the coming years.

By Jeroen Janssens , Thijs Nieuwdorp ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Python Polars as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Want to speed up your data analysis and work with larger-than-memory datasets? Python Polars offers a blazingly fast, multithreaded, and elegant API for data loading, manipulation, and processing. With this hands-on guide, you'll walk through every aspect of Polars and learn how to tackle practical use cases using real-world datasets.

Jeroen Janssens and Thijs Nieuwdorp from Xomnia in Amsterdam show you how this superfast DataFrame library is perfect for efficient data wrangling, ETL pipelines, and so much more. This book helps you quickly learn the syntax and understand Polars' underlying concepts. You don't need to have experience with pandas or…


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Book cover of Trusting Her Duke

Trusting Her Duke by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.

Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…

Book cover of The R Book

Tilman M. Davies Author Of The Book of R: A First Course in Programming and Statistics

From my list on intro to programming and data science with R.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an applied statistician and academic researcher/lecturer at New Zealand’s oldest university – the University of Otago. R facilitates everything I do – research, academic publication, and teaching. It’s the latter part of my job that motivated my own book on R. From first-year statistics students who have never seen R to my own Ph.D. students using R to implement novel and highly complex statistical methods and models, my experience is that all ultimately love the ease with which the R language permits exploration, visualisation, analysis, and inference of one’s data. The ever-growing need in today’s society for skilled statisticians and data scientists means there's never been a better time to learn this essential language.

Tilman's book list on intro to programming and data science with R

Tilman M. Davies Why Tilman loves this book

An authoritative tome on R. This book is the ultimate reference guide, heavy on statistical methods from the simple to the advanced. Of the 29 chapters, only the first five chapters or so have R syntactical and programming skills as their main focus; the remaining content highlights the many and varied statistical techniques R is capable of. I think this is a fantastic book to have on the shelf for people who are likely to need R and its contributed packages for a variety of different statistical analyses, but might not know where to initially start for any given statistical method.

By Michael J. Crawley ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The R Book as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Hugely successful and popular text presenting an extensive and comprehensive guide for all R users The R language is recognized as one of the most powerful and flexible statistical software packages, enabling users to apply many statistical techniques that would be impossible without such software to help implement such large data sets. R has become an essential tool for understanding and carrying out research. This edition: * Features full colour text and extensive graphics throughout. * Introduces a clear structure with numbered section headings to help readers locate information more efficiently. * Looks at the evolution of R over the…


Book cover of The Average is Always Wrong

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an Australian who lives in France, and has worked and lived on three continents, and drawn inspiration for every location. Through this, I have developed a fascination about the way we all think in creatively different ways about the same things. All this cross-referencing has shown me that all responses to the need for change go better with a base of a few things: trust in your own people and those whose businesses support yours, discovery of assets hidden in plain sight, and fun. All these books share these themes. I hope they inspire you to think more creatively and to constantly value the value of values.

Paquita's book list on practical rethinking so you can tailor your own solutions no matter how much complexity you face

Paquita Lamacraft Why Paquita loves this book

I love the fact that I had confirmation that what your data is telling you is probably not what it seems.

This book brilliantly explains the buzzword vocabulary of financial “experts” and what the data that goes with those buzzwords actually show. It’s a wonderfully simple explanation of each term with examples of how skewed the bar graph may be and why, and where real value lies and how to find it.

I found new insights on how to better analyse customer behaviour—without the fancy graphs—and suggestions of what to do about it. 

By Ian Shepherd ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Average is Always Wrong as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Everywhere you look people are talking about data.

Buzzwords abound - 'data science', 'machine learning','artificial intelligence'. But what does any of it really mean, and most importantly what does it mean for your business?

Long-established businesses in many industries find themselves competing with new entrants built entirely on data and analytics. This ground-breaking new book levels the playing field in dramatic fashion.

The Average is Always Wrong is a completely pragmatic and hands-on guide to harnessing data to transform your business for the better.

Experienced CEO and CMO Ian Shepherd takes you behind the jargon and puts together a powerful…


Book cover of Design Drawing

Alan Hughes Author Of Interior Design Drawing

From my list on exploring interior design and our understanding.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a child my heroes were designers and I thought designers could design across many disciplines, this was what I understood and aspired to. I'm fortunate to have been a designer, illustrator, and design teacher for many years. Passionate about the process I firmly believe if you can design in one area you can design in another. Understanding your material's potential is the key. As a tutor and author my job is to unwrap a student’s talent, support and encourage that unique view through skills building and advice to help them. I believe good design can solve many of the world’s problems and passing on that message is valuable.

Alan's book list on exploring interior design and our understanding

Alan Hughes Why Alan loves this book

Ching has a great gift for illustrating with his visuals, and his amazing handwritten text, all manner of information about drawing and designing space. This is a comprehensive and instructional book introducing design drawing from basic principles to the communication of designed space as a structural diagram or atmospheric perspective. A wonderful exploration of sketching and drawing methods to illustrate theory, atmosphere, and the communication of three-dimensional space.  For me, it transcended the textbook approach and provided a clear exploration of the communication of design method and its potential outcomes.

By Francis D. K. Ching , Steven P. Juroszek ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Design Drawing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE CLASSIC GUIDE TO DRAWING FOR DESIGNERS, REVISED AND UPDATED TO INCLUDE CURRENT DIGITAL-DRAWING TECHNIQUES

Hand drawing is an integral part of the design process and central to the architecture profession. An architect's precise interpretation and freedom of expression are captured through hand drawing, and it is perhaps the most fundamental skill that the designer must develop in order to communicate thoughts and ideas effectively. In his distinctive style, world-renowned author Francis D. K. Ching presents Design Drawing, Third Edition, the classic guide to hand drawing that clearly demonstrates how to use drawing as a practical tool for formulating and…


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Book cover of The Duke's Christmas Redemption

The Duke's Christmas Redemption by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.

Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…

Book cover of The Closed World: Computers and the Politics of Discourse in Cold War America

Philip Mirowski Author Of The Knowledge We Have Lost in Information: The History of Information in Modern Economics

From my list on the politics of science.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an economist who came to realize that the marketplace of ideas was a political doctrine, and not an empirical description of how we came to know what we think we know. Science has never functioned in the same manner across centuries; it was only during my lifetime that it became recast as a subset of market reality. I have spent a fair amount of effort exploring how economics sought to attain the status of a science; but now the tables have turned. It is now scientists who are trained to become first and foremost market actors, finally elevating the political dominance of the economists.

Philip's book list on the politics of science

Philip Mirowski Why Philip loves this book

Edwards revealed how the very architecture of early computers owed a debt to the political structures of the Cold War. The innovation of a command/control/information infrastructure set the template for military regimentation, and subsequently for the surveillance society we currently inhabit. The story of how cybernetics—a field that never quite made the grade as pure science—nevertheless conquered the culture, is fascinating.

By Paul Edwards ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Closed World as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Closed World offers a radically new alternative to the canonical histories of computers and cognitive science. Arguing that we can make sense of computers as tools only when we simultaneously grasp their roles as metaphors and political icons, Paul Edwards shows how Cold War social and cultural contexts shaped emerging computer technology―and were transformed, in turn, by information machines.

The Closed World explores three apparently disparate histories―the history of American global power, the history of computing machines, and the history of subjectivity in science and culture―through the lens of the American political imagination. In the process, it reveals intimate…


Book cover of Nicely Said: Writing for the Web with Style and Purpose

Rachel McConnell Author Of Why You Need a Content Team and How to Build One

From my list on copywriters looking to move into UX content design.

Why am I passionate about this?

I moved into content design from a career in brand and marketing, at a time when the discipline was emerging and not many people really knew what it was. Much of my time since has been spent educating people and organisations and sharing knowledge to help them make better content decisions. Throughout this time, I’ve learnt most of what I know through the experience of working with the design teams, but so many books have also helped me along the way and made my work so much better. I love content design – having the power to improve people's experiences with brands through words is so rewarding, and these books will inspire others to do the same.

Rachel's book list on copywriters looking to move into UX content design

Rachel McConnell Why Rachel loves this book

I’m picking this book because it’s actually useful for anyone in content, whether you’re a marketing strategist, UX writer, or content designer. It’s easy to read, and a lovely overview of creating more effective content – with guidance on how to adapt tone for different scenarios, and a brilliant exercise for proposition development. It was one of the first books I read about web content, and still one of the books I refer back to again and again.

By Nicole Fenton , Kate Kiefer-Lee ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Nicely Said as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Whether you're new to web writing, or you're a professional writer looking to deepen your skills, this book is for you. You'll learn how to write web copy that addresses your readers' needs and supports your business goals.

Learn from real-world examples and interviews with people who put these ideas into action every day: Kristina Halvorson of Brain Traffic, Tiffani Jones Brown of Pinterest, Randy J. Hunt of Etsy, Gabrielle Blair of Design Mom, Mandy Brown of Editorially, Sarah Richards of GOV.UK, and more.
Topics include:

* Write marketing copy, interface flows, blog posts, legal policies, and emails
* Develop…


Book cover of Processing: A Programming Handbook for Visual Designers and Artists

Scott Murray Author Of Unstuck: Javascript

From my list on learning how to code interactive graphics.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been making web pages since the World Wide Web began in the mid-1990s. Back then, the web was visually quite sparse. It wasn’t until the late 2000s that new browser capabilities let the web get visually interesting and an exciting place for interactive graphics. Graphics are great: they can be informational (like charts and maps) or purely aesthetic. My personal journey of learning to code interactive graphics has been so rewarding that I’ve shared the love with others through teaching creative coding workshops and undergraduate courses. If you’re new to coding or computer graphics, I hope you’ll give one of these books a try!

Scott's book list on learning how to code interactive graphics

Scott Murray Why Scott loves this book

This book changed my life. Known simply as “the blue book” in creative coding circles, I discovered this in a bookstore in Cambridge, Mass., just blocks from where Casey and Ben had created Processing at MIT (and then wrote this book). It opened me up to Processing—their programming language for artists and designers—but also to code as a creative medium. Until then, I saw code as a dry, tedious way to fight with computers. Now I know that code can be just as expressive, engaging, and emotional as prose and poetry.

While the syntax in this book is for Processing (which you can download and run on your computer for free), the concepts are equally applicable to p5.js (which runs in a web browser, also for free).

By Casey Reas , Ben Fry ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Processing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The new edition of an introduction to computer programming within the context of the visual arts, using the open-source programming language Processing; thoroughly updated throughout.

The visual arts are rapidly changing as media moves into the web, mobile devices, and architecture. When designers and artists learn the basics of writing software, they develop a new form of literacy that enables them to create new media for the present, and to imagine future media that are beyond the capacities of current software tools. This book introduces this new literacy by teaching computer programming within the context of the visual arts. It…


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Book cover of Old Man Country

Old Man Country by Thomas R. Cole,

This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.

In these and other intimate conversations, the book…

Book cover of Human + Machine: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI

Steve Finlay Author Of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Business: A No-Nonsense Guide to Data Driven Technologies

From my list on machine learning for managers and business leaders.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have worked in the field of machine learning and predictive analytics for many years. Having started out as a technical specialist, I have become increasingly interested in the legal, ethical, and social aspects of these subjects. This is because it is these “soft issues” that often determine how successful these technologies are in practice and if they are viewed as a force for good or evil in wider society. This has led me to write several books focusing on the practical and cultural aspects of these subjects and how best to apply them for the benefit of business, individuals, and wider society.

Steve's book list on machine learning for managers and business leaders

Steve Finlay Why Steve loves this book

Many writers have discussed the dangers that artificial intelligence and machine learning represent to our livelihoods, and how clever computers and autonomous robots will supplant us all in the workplace. What I like about this book is that it provides an alternative, and very optimistic, view of how these new technologies are being deployed. The authors present a future based on a partnership, in which artificial intelligence-based tools work in tandem with human workers, enhancing what individuals can do in the workplace rather than replacing them.

By Paul R. Daugherty , H. James Wilson ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Human + Machine as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

AI is radically transforming business. Are you ready?

Look around you. Artificial intelligence is no longer just a futuristic notion. It's here right now--in software that senses what we need, supply chains that "think" in real time, and robots that respond to changes in their environment. Twenty-first-century pioneer companies are already using AI to innovate and grow fast. The bottom line is this: Businesses that understand how to harness AI can surge ahead. Those that neglect it will fall behind. Which side are you on?

In Human + Machine, Accenture leaders Paul R. Daugherty and H. James (Jim) Wilson show…


Book cover of Computer Age Statistical Inference, Algorithms, Evidence, and Data Science
Book cover of All-in On AI: How Smart Companies Win Big with Artificial Intelligence
Book cover of Python Polars

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Interested in data processing, Chicago, and Europe?

Data Processing 30 books
Chicago 409 books
Europe 986 books