"Wainer's book is a delight to read. Readers will come away with a clear understanding of how uncertainty, properly measured, can help us make decisions and can provide a skeptical aura about the facts behind those decisions. Wainer's examples show how statistical reasoning is needed to make sense of what our observations tell us. This book offers insights beyond what is usually taught in statistics courses."--David Salsburg, author of The Lady Tasting Tea: How Statistics Revolutionized Science in the Twentieth Century

"An entertaining and thought-provoking book. From displaying the Medicare drug benefit and trends in test scores and school spending, to unraveling Freedle's folly, Howard Wainer tells story after story about the understanding and display of variation."--Andrew Gelman, author of Red State, Blue State, Rich State, Poor State

"Feel like you're drowning in data? Howard Wainer is an enthusiastic advocate for graphs and statistics' ability to clarify complexity. His essays illustrate how to exploit the possibilities--and avoid the pitfalls--in presenting information so that it is actually informative."--Joel Best, author of Stat-Spotting: A Field Guide to Identifying Dubious Data

"This book offers lessons on the effective presentation of numbers and how to avoid common mistakes in interpreting statistical information. At a time when statisticians are in an arms race to develop ever more complex and impenetrable statistical formulations, Wainer teaches that the purpose of statistics is to make the complex simple. He is one of the few recognized authorities on the presentation of numerical evidence."--Gary M. Klass, author of Just Plain Data Analysis

"It was a real joy to read Wainer's book. Its great strengths are the interesting examples, the insightful and instructive analysis, and the entertaining writing. There is much to be learned here, and Wainer does a superb job of bringing out the general principles. This is an important book. It clearly demonstrates the value of statistical thinking."--Karl W. Broman, University of Wisconsin-Madison