Customer Reviews:
 The gateway from 'pretty good' to 'expert' September 1, 2008
J. Michaelson
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
This is not an introductory text, and should not be the first R book in your collection. However, if you are a "pretty good" R programmer and want to take the next step in becoming an "expert" R programmer, this is your Bible.
For me, this book fills the hole of understanding how R thinks. To get a complete and accurate view of why R works the way it does, the author supplements the technical discussion with the philosophy of R, as well as pieces of the history of statistical computing and computing in general.
Others might consider this integration of technical detail with philosophical and historical background (complete with Star Trek references) to be "wordy", but this is precisely why I bought the book. If one is interested only in the purely technical aspects, the thorough documentation on the R website is free. I consider the insights - provided by the mind that laid the foundation for R in S - to be well worth the price of the book.
That said, this book is an invaluable guide (both technical and philosophical) on the road to becoming an R expert. I'm looking forward to putting some dog ears on my copy.
 just okay August 13, 2008
C. Tu (Lincoln, Nebraska United States)
6 out of 10 found this review helpful
I bought this book at the 2008 JSM. After I read the first 3 chapters I found that it is too wordy. But I have to agree that this is a good book for understanding the basic mechanism of R. If you are an advanced user you might want to read the S programming which is written by W.N. Venables & B.D Ripley. It is much better than Software for Data Analysis with R.
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