Mathematical Association of America

Review
Author(s): P. S. Dwyer
Review by: P. S. Dwyer
Source: The American Mathematical Monthly, Vol. 60, No. 1 (Jan., 1953), pp. 57-58
Published by: Mathematical Association of America
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2306494
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1953] RECENT PUBLICATIONS 57

who is seekingsome mathematicsbeyond the calculus will probably regard the

book as too theoreticalin spite of its applications, its numerical methods,and
its extensivetreatmentof vectors.
L. J.GREEN
Case Institute of Technology
AdvancedStatisticalMethodsin BiometricResearch.C. R. Rao. New York. John
Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1952. xvii+390 pp. $7.50.
Many books dealing with statistics emphasize either statistical theory (for
those who are interestedin the mathematical and logical bases of the subject)
or statistical methods (forthose who are interestedprimarilyin the applications
of statisticsto some particularfield). This cleavage of the subject is partly due
to the trainingand interestsof the authors,partly due to the backgroundsand
interestsof the two groupsof readers,and partlydue to the fact that a thorough
development of the theory,an adequate explanation of its application, and a
suitable demonstrationof appropriatecomputationsare apt to result in a work
which is bulky and which lacks the desired unity of style.
The purpose of the author, as indicated in the preface and as revealed
throughoutthe volume, was "to present a number of statistical techniques,
keepingin view the requirementsof both the studentwho questions the basis of
a particularmethod employed and the practical workerwho seeks a recipe for
the reduction of data." He has hence provided whatever theoretical material
(usually of a mathematical nature) was necessary for a precise statement and
mathematicalsolution of each problem,and, in many cases, detailed computa-
tions illustratingthe various steps in the numericalsolution.
The book, as its title suggests, is primarilyin the "methods" class rather
than in the "theory" class, though the theory is by no means neglected. The
first85 pages are devoted to necessary mathematical and statistical material
with little referenceto "methods." The rest of the book is in a general way
devoted to "methods" though additional suitable theoreticalmaterial (including
several appendices) is included as needed. The "methods" part of the book
featureshistoricalbackground,with lists of appropriatereferencesand generous
discussions of the nature of the problems under consideration,as well as the
recommendedsolution.
The book is writtenprimarilyforworkersin biometricresearchbut will be
of value to workersin otherfieldswho are interestedin the generalarea of multi-
variate analysis and the particulararea of discriminatoryanalysis.
The material of the last two chapters dealing with the use of multiple
measurementsin problemsof biological classificationis of especial interest.An
objective methodwhichminimizesthe errorsofclassificationis introducedin the
firstof these chapters. The developmentleads to a problemwhich is similar to
such linear programmingproblemsas the Hitchcock-Koopmans transportation
problem and the problem of differentialprediction.The final chapter features
discriminatorytopology,which is useful in orderingstatistical groups, and in

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58 RECENT PUBLICATIONS [January

general the interrelationshipsbetween a number of populations or groups of

individuals. Especially featuredis the concept of group distance, introducedby
Mahalanobis.
Each chapter has its own list of references.There are no problemsin each
chapter,except forthe author's illustrations,but a list of 20 miscellaneousprob-
lems, most of which are of a theoreticalnature,is given as an appendix.
The mathematicianmay be especially interestedin the first85 pages where
the basic multivariatematerial throughthe derivationof the Wishart distribu-
tion is presentedin concise form.
This book seems to the reviewerto be a valuable addition to the literature
of statistical methods and statistical theory.The author has achieved consider-
able success in unifyingthe study of mathematical distributions,statistical
inference,and computational methods and in presentingthe result in a single
volume.
P. S. DWYER
Universityof Michigan

ElementaryDifferentialEquations. By E. D. Rainville. The Macmillan Com-

pany, 1952. xii+392 pp. $5.00.
The text "A Short Course in DifferentialEquations" by the same author and
publisher has been extended and supplementedto formthe new "Elementary
DifferentialEquations." This was done by using all of the plates fromthe Short
Course, with no revision,to formthe firstthirteenchapters of the new text.
The author, no doubt, saw a need forsome revisionand supplementingin this
material and at least partially accomplished this by the appendage of three
supplements. This procedure was a desirable economy from the publisher's
point of view.
The introductionof elementary concepts in differentialequations to the
average, or lower-ability,student is accomplished in a remarkable manner.
Necessary theoryto give thisstudenta properconcept is veryclearlyillustrated,
avoiding the many finepoints that would add to his confusion.Plenty of exer-
cises are available to assure proficiencyin the mechanics of solving differential
equations. The inclusion of the Miscellaneous Exercises, all word problems,at
the end of Supplement A is certainlya welcome addition.
The new chapters,fourteenthroughtwenty-one,are writtenwith the same
care and viewpoint.An average studentshould be able to continuethroughthis
textand end withas many "rightideas" as could be expectedforan introductory
course.
Teachers will, in any course, want to introduce their own peculiar "likes"
in the presentationof theoryor new subject matter,and some are at times in-
clined to mention their "dislikes." I find the latter urge less frequentin this
text. The answer to practicallyevery problemis given with the problem.Some
would preferthat the answersbe listed at the end of the book; othersthat only

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