Probability and Random Processes

(1) The prior reviewer might have a point in that this book may not have as many exercises and examples that are worked out to be helpful to the learner. However, this is because there is a companion book -- *One Thousand Exercises in Probability* (2nd ed.) -- that is designed to provide those examples and exercises. That book contains the answers/solutions to each and every exercise posed in that book. That book also closely follows the topics of this book. Together, those 2 books by Grimmett & Stirzaker should meet all of the requirements for self-studiers of probability theory. [Really, the 2 books should be seen as a set.]

(2) The 3rd edition of this book (along with exercises/answer book) cover a wide range of topics from probability starting from basics and going up to applications like queueing, Monte Carlo & Markov Chain Monte Carlo, Ito's Lemma & financial option valuation, etc. In short, this set of books should enable the sufficiently motivated to go from basic probability to a point where they can approach useful problems in applied probability (rather than toy problems offered by other books which, by the way, don't usually give the answers).

(3) Stirzaker (Oxford) has one of the best approaches to thinking about probability that I have ever come across. It is well worth it to expose oneself to his viewpoint.


Clarifying   October 12, 2001
Michael Hardy (Minneapolis, MN, USA, for the Time Being)
13 out of 18 found this review helpful

I agree with the previous reviewer, but I fear his review may
inadvertently mislead customers about what the subject-matter
is. Grimmett & Stirzaker's is an excellent book on probability
and random processes. It is *not* a book on what is called "mathematical statistics," and contains almost nothing on that
subject. Mathematical statistics deals with inference about the nature of random processes, from data that may emerge from them.
That subject has a vast literature, and is one of the standard topics (see, for example, Casella & Berger's book
_Statistical_Inference_), and is not treated at all in this book.

(Alert readers may have noticed that the word "clarifying" in this context may be construed in at least two different ways.)


Absolute essential   June 11, 1998
19 out of 25 found this review helpful

If you want to offer yourself a thorough grounding is mathematical statistics, this IS the text to have; starts humble, but then covers an enormity of topics (with humour even)-the chapter on ergodicity is splendid- with an understanding of how the mind of the reader actually does assimilate information (hardly anything is taken for granted)....a classic