Long-time Dobbs Codetalk visitors may recall my special guest's review of a graphic novel more oriented toward a more neophyte technology crowd, posted here.  That guest reviewer is back to share her comments about an educational title published by the technically-oriented, content edge-driven folks at No Starch Press. 
I'm proud to once again to share my blogging space with my favorite guest reviewer and talented Manga artist, my 14-year old daughter.  Take it away, Marielle!

The Manga Guide to Statistics Book Review
by Marielle Riley

The Manga Guide to Statistics is a story about a young girl named Rui who falls in love with her father's handsome co-worker, Mr. Igarashi, who works in Marketing. Rui wants to spend time with Mr.Igarashi, so she comes up with a plan to ask her father if she could have a tutor to teach her about statistics. Her father happily finds one.

Rui expects the tutor to be Mr. Igarashi, but she is instead paired up with a neighbor named Mamoru Yamoto, a the funny guy with weird glasses. Rui is distressed but tries to bend the plan so that when she is done learning about statistics, she would confront Mr. Igarashi and they would hopefully be together.

The story is filled with great examples, twists, humor and memorable characters while still being able to stay on topic. It is definitely way better than trying to comprehend a bland statistics book. The book teaches data types, numerical data, categorical data, standard score, deviation score, obtaining probability, relationships between two variables, hypothesis tests, and toward the end (there is no comic for this), calculating statistical formulas using Excel.

The book has a very appealing story line. Of course, this book caters more toward the female population, since it's based on comedy and romance. The book at times can be a bit confusing because of definition overload and the depth in which the book explains things. The book's index is fine but I would have preferred a glossary or something that gives definitions to all of the confusing words that I encountered.

In summary, anyone who has ever had an introduction to statistics will be able to understand the book's content more. Also, because of the difficulty level, I recommend it for ages 14 and up. Lastly, the price of the book is $19.95. It is a little more expensive than most comic books, but since it teaches you more than other books while still giving you the entertainment, it is definitely worth it.

 

Title: The Manga Guide to Statistics
Author:  Shin Takahashi
Publisher: No Starch Press
Distributor: O'Reilly Media
ISBN: 1-59327-189-1
Price: $19.95 US