Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2958 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-23
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Review
This delightful book should be compulsory reading for everyone responsible for presenting data and for everyone who consumes it. --Sunday Telegraph

...this is one of those maths books that claims to be self-help, and on the evidence presented here, we are in dire need of it... --Daily Telegraph

Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England
'How to use the knowledge we already possess to understand numbers and make sense of the world around us.'

Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive, Royal Society of Arts
`If every politician and journalist were required to read this engaging and eye-opening book before embarking on their career, we would live in a wiser, better-governed world.'

Customer Reviews

everyone should read this
All journalists, reporters, politicans and anyone who deals with numbers in the public domain should be forced to read this book before starting their career. It would lead to a much more informed debate than the one we currently get. I write as a qualified statistician (and you certainly don't need to be that to understand this book). It superbly helps the reader disentangle the huge volume of statistics and numbers that they are bombarded with on a daily basis.

The only disappointment with the book was the fact that it didn't deal with the MMR controversy, which is an outstanding example of the misuse of statistics in an area of very real concern to many parents. But it remains an excellent buy.

Excellent, very accessible look at how numbers are misinterpreted
This book should be compulsary reading for... well, everyone. Don't be put off by that ominous word 'numbers' on the front cover. This might be a book about numbers, but the most maths phobic of readers has nothing to fear. It's written in a clear and accessible style, full of interesting and relevant examples from every day life, most of which are easily recognisable from recent news stories. There's no actual maths involved - it's a story about how numbers are presented (spun, if you like), and misinterpreted.

In a society where we are barraged with figures and statistics, it is important for us all to know when to believe and when - and how - to question the numbers we are presented by press and politicians. This accessible little book will change the way you read and think about the news, and is an engaging and enjoyable read in itself. No interest in or understanding of maths or statistics is necessary. I would particularly highly recommend it to anyone working journalism, politics or the public sector, or who has to meet targets or is numerically assessed in their work.

Good for statistics beginners
This book gives a gentle introduction into the statistical background to many newsworthy topics such as speed cameras, league tables and drug testing. There are no equations and the book can be read in a couple of hours. To those who are already familiar with concepts such as regression to the mean, skewed distributions and relative risks then the content may be too lightweight. I enjoyed the book but those looking for something more substantial should try "The Lady Tasting Tea . . ." by David Salsburg. You can find out more about the topics in the book by listening to the archive of BBC Radio 4's More or Less programme (the author is the creator of that radio series). The book is certainly aimed at the UK reader.