Reader reviews

Exactly the book I needed. Straight to the point and genuinely useful.

I came to this book already familiar with the basics, and it still had plenty to offer. A few of the examples could be more realistic, but the underlying points come across clearly. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. The progression from chapter to chapter is well thought out; nothing feels out of order. If you have the prerequisites, this is an easy recommendation. I will be keeping it on my desk rather than the shelf.

Finally, a book that treats ai & machine learning with the care it deserves.

There is a particular kind of technical book that is dense without being difficult, and this is one of them. The explanations are careful without being condescending, which is a difficult balance to strike. The chapters on ai & machine learning are the strongest — the examples are stripped down but complete, and I could follow along without constant guessing. An easy five stars from me. I look forward to whatever the author writes next.

Better than I expected. Rare to find a technical book this well judged.

I bought this on a whim after seeing it mentioned in a forum thread, and I am glad I did. The balance between theory and practice is well judged; neither side dominates. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. I have already recommended it to two colleagues and will recommend it to more.

A useful guide. The examples assume a particular environment, but that is fixable.

I picked this up after getting stuck on a project and it turned out to be exactly the right book at the right time. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. The chapters on computational biology are the strongest — the examples are stripped down but complete, and I could follow along without constant guessing. Good value for the price and worth the time it takes to work through properly.

Very good, with a few caveats. The core material is strong.

I came to this book already familiar with the basics, and it still had plenty to offer. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. There is a section near the end that ties several earlier ideas together in a way I had not seen before. Four stars, and I suspect a second edition could easily push it to five.

An enjoyable and informative read, though it could have been shorter.

I had been on the fence about this one for a while, and I should have bought it sooner. It is denser than the page count suggests, and I found myself slowing down around the middle. The book rewards careful reading. Skimming it would be a mistake. Solid, and I would buy another book from this author without hesitation.