Book Review: Foundations of Statistical Analyses and Applications with SAS, by Michael Flak, Frank Marohn, Bernward Tewes

This ambitious book attempts two considerable tasks – to give the foundations of statistical analysis, and apply these foundations using SAS. On one hand, SAS is a massive, complex environment, taking years to learn and use efficiently. On the other hand, to successfully introduce the foundations of statistical analyses is probably several books in itself. The authors indicate the audience is primarily students of statistics and mathematics, and other disciplines (economics, biostatistics) where statistics has a strong impact. They also see a use for the practitioner who, beyond using statistical tools, is interested in their mathematical background. The book assumes a “higher level of mathematics than [for] most applied statistics books”, and is targeted at students who have “already had an introduction to probability theory and mathematical statistics”. It does not assume any SAS knowledge. Their motivation is to bridge the gap between the theory and practice since analysis of real data using statistical methods with a software package common in industry is not usually an integral part of mathematical statistical studies.…