Welcome to AP Statistics.
Your summer assignment is to choose one of the following books,
to read it and to write a one page summary of what the book is about. Most of the books are available
through the public library system. A few of the older ones may be harder to find.
A couple of them have been on the best seller lists.
Your paper should be typed, single spaced and written in good English.
Include a personal reaction to what you read in your paper.
The paper is due at the start of the first class in September 2008.
When you have selected and obtained your book, please notify me by email of your choice.
Enjoy your summer.
Damned Lies and Statistics: Untangling Numbers from the Media,
Politicians, and Activists, J Best, University of California Press,
2001.
More Damned Lies and Statistics: How Numbers Confuse Public Issues, J.
Best, University of California Press, 2004.
Freakonomics A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything,
S. D. Levitt & S. J. Dubner, HarperCollins, 2005.
How to Lie with Statistics, D. Huff, W. W. Norton, 1952.
The Lady Tasting Tea, D. Salsburg, Owl Books, 2001.
A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper, J. A. Paulos, Basic Books, 1995.
200% of Nothing, A. K. Dewdney, John Wiley and Sons, 1993.
Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the
Markets, N. Taleb Thomson, 2004
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, N. Taleb,
Thomson, 2007
Bringing Down the House: How Six Students Took Vegas for Millons, B.
Mezrich (book on which Breaking Vegas is based), Free Press, 2002
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, M. Lewis, Norton, 2003
Tainted Truth: The Manipulation of Fact In America, C. Crossen
The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic and How
It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World, S. Johnson
A Cartoon Guide to Statistics. L. Gonick & W. Smith. Harper, 1993
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, M.
Gladwell, Little, Brown & Co., 2002
Calculated Risks: How to Know When Numbers Deceive You, G. Gigerenzer,
Simon and Schuster, 2002
News & Numbers: A Guide to Reporting Statistical Claims and
Controversies in Health and Other Fields, V. Cohn
Envisioning Information. Edward R. Tufte. Graphics Press, 1990
How to Think About Statistics, 6th Edition. J. L. Phillips, Jr., W. H.
Freeman, 2000
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. Edward R. Tufte.
Graphics Press, 2001
Aging With Grace: What the Nun Study Teaches Us About Leading Longer,Healthier,
and More Meaningful Lives, D. Snowden, Bantom Press, 2002
Randomness, D. Bennett, Harvard University Press, 1998
Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big Changes, Mark J.
Penn, 2007