Reader reviews

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.

The clearest explanation of ai & machine learning I have come across.

I read this over a couple of weekends alongside a small side project, which turned out to be the ideal way to approach it. The exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. Some terminology is introduced without much ceremony; I had to look a few things up along the way. Worth the money and the reading time, without hesitation.

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.

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.

Good book. The writing is direct and the author is honest about limits.

I bought this on a whim after seeing it mentioned in a forum thread, and I am glad I did. I found myself making notes in the margins, which is always a good sign. The book rewards careful reading. Skimming it would be a mistake. Worth picking up if you already have the basics. Set realistic expectations and you will get a lot out of it.

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.