What are the Best Books for Data Science?

All of us have different takes on learning and gaining knowledge. Some like to watch videos, some like listening to people, some like being guided, some love reading. If you are a reader and really love the field of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, you are at the right place to get more of what you love.

(Links to the free books are mentioned when it is available)

This article has the following sections:

• Overview of Data Science
• Books to begin with Data Science
• Books to help you Master Data Science

So let’s start your journey and help you find the best books for learning Data Science :)

Overview of Data Science

So what exactly do we understand by Data Science? 

Data Science is a blend of various tools, algorithms, and machine learning principles with the goal to discover hidden patterns from the raw data.

That right there is the formal definition but let’s simplify it even more. Data Science is basically predicting the steps to take from the huge amounts of data that we have collected. It requires various tools that can help you clean the data and visualize it for analysis. You make use of Machine Learning algorithms to learn from the data, understand the patterns the data wants to communicate and helps predict the steps and various measures that would definitely help you improve your business strategies.

Now you may get it confused with Business Intelligence (BI) but remember that BI only helps you understand what you have done with your existing data. You are the one who needs to take the steps for future Business Strategies. Data Science makes it easier for you by predicting what has to be done in the future and there is also the chance that algorithm outputs may be better than the ones you take. Just a chance though :P

Check out this video created by experts to learn the concepts of Data Science in detail.

Books to begin with Data Science

By now, all of us have established the idea that Data Science is a culmination of Statistics, Probability, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Programming Knowledge, Business Knowledge and common-sense. So if you are completely new to this field, continue reading with this section as I am going to specify all the books that act as a pre-requisite for Data Science else you can skip over to the next section for the advanced books.

• Introduction to Statistical Learning by Gareth James, Daniela Witten, Trevor Hastie and Robert Tibshirani

This book is definitely my first recommendation to anyone who wants to start out in the field of Machine Learning. It teaches you all about the statistics that would be needed by you in-depth and also goes over some Machine Learning techniques. The other best part is that it also introduces these statistical techniques in R programming so that you can get a hang of it. Overall, this is my favourite book if you are someone who is looking to start in the field.

• Introduction to Probability by J. Laurie Snell and Charles Miller Grinstead

My second book recommendation would be Introduction to Probability simply because of the fact that this book has been written keeping college students in mind who are just looking to enter into this field. It goes over all the basics of probability with really good real-life examples. The authors have very simple and intuitive language and it is definitely a good learning and reading experience. Download the free book here.

• Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach by Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig

My third book recommendation is Artificial Intelligence. Machine Learning is a subfield of Artificial Intelligence and they share a lot in common. This book is a perfect move up from the previous two as it moves up slowly into the field of Machine Learning and more with a really simple language. It talks about the differences between them and how you need to understand the problem perfectly and move accordingly to find the solution for it. A really good book to help you differentiate between problem approaches and find the needed path. Download the free book here.

• Machine Learning For Dummies by John Paul Mueller and Luca Massaron

My fourth recommendation notches it up a level and this is where we get serious. Machine Learning for Dummies looks into the theory and basic concepts of Machine Learning to make the readers get used to all the jargons of it. It teaches you how to apply Machine Learning in practicality and introduces the programming languages and tools that are required to apply them efficiently. It introduces coding with Python and R programming language and how they can be used to teach your computer about certain patterns and analyze results. You can learn how applications of Machine Learning are used in the real world and is a great starter into the world of Machine Learning. Download the free book here.

• Make Your Own Neural Network by Tariq Rashid

My fifth and final recommendation for beginners has got to be Make Your Own Neural Network. Machine Learning fails when the data grows. And so, Deep Learning comes to the play. This book is beautiful for everyone who wants to study about Deep Learning and how they are better than typical Machine Learning. It teaches you how to build your neural networks in Python with practical examples and problems. The writing is beautiful and helps you understand this rather tricky subject very easily. Buy the book here. (PAID).

So those were my top 5 picks for anyone who is a beginner and would love to jump into the field of Data Science. Now that we through with beginner recommendations, let’s move forward to much more complicated books that will help you in mastering Data Science. Let’s go!

Books to help you Master Data Science

Once you have the read the beginner books or are already comfortable with the concepts of Statistics, Probability, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, now is the time to move over to the big leagues. Go through these recommendations that I am sure will help you master this vast field.

• Data Science For Dummies by Lillian Pierson

My first recommendation to help get started with mastering Data Science has got to be Data Science for Dummies. This book is really fun and intuitive, parallelly very comprehensive and precise. The author has introduced all the necessary concepts and techniques that you will require to understand all that is needed for Data Science. It is a workbook that will help you hone your skills in areas of Big Data Analytics, Hadoop, MapReduce, Spark, MPP platforms, NoSQL, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. One of the best books in the business for being simple yet effective for Data Science enthusiasts. Download the free book here.

• Inflection Point by Scott Stawski

My second recommendation here is not a technical book but definitely a must if you want to master Data Science. So what does this book hold? Business Knowledge! It is probably the most future-thought inducing book primarily because of the fact that it talks about the evolution of the world after the emergence of technologies such as Cloud Computing, Big Data, Mobile Devices and it’s Applications, IoT Devices and more and how they revolutionized the business of the world. It teaches you to be adaptive to the newer technologies and why they can provide the best profit to your business ideas. Definitely a no brainer in this list of recommendations as it takes away the stress of technicality and induces a sense of business and goal orientation into the readers’ mind. Download the free book here.

• Storytelling With Data by Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

My third recommendation comes back to technical parts of Data Science but in the best of ways! Anything that we read as a story stays with us for longer as we adore to it and find joy in the story. The author understands exactly that of human nature and teaches us the concepts of Data Visualization in great stories. He takes into consideration the readers’ mindset, creates a story with a real-life example, explains what is necessary and what is not, shows ways how to clean the data. And then finishes with the precise graphs and visuals that bring in a sense of storytelling. You would never know how reading a few pages would have made you cover a number of important topics and techniques. Really a brilliant book. Download the free book here.

• Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning by Christopher M. Bishop

My fourth recommendation here has definitely got to be Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning. For everyone aiming to be Data Scientists, this is the book you need. It covers various ever-advancing topics of statistics and probability and also goes through finding what patterns make data better or worse and how to work with them for Machine Learning. From general examples to real-world data gathering and pattern study, it teaches all of it to you. It is definitely the book to help you with mastering Data Science and is also one of my favourite books of all time! Download the free book here.

• The Signal And The Noise by Nate Silver

My fifth and best recommendation to you guys has to be this book. It is best suited for Data Scientists who are looking to master this field, both practically and technically. It is hands down one of the best books in this filed. This best selling book shows the power of Big Data Analysis to make valuable predictions in the most sensible ways. The author shows you the art and science of making predictions and conclusions from the data that is in front of us. Real-world case studies with flavours of prediction wins and losses are sure to tone your thinking, making you a winner in every way possible. It makes sure to teach you how to make sensible predictions and obtain success to your business ideas. A favourite of mine for sure! Download the free book here.

So with that, we basically wrap up all the recommendations that we have for you guys. I hope that these books will definitely help you tone your skills and make you become better Data Scientist in the long run. Remember that this is a vast field and will require a lot of time and patience to master. I wish you all the best and till next time, take care and Happy Learning! :)

Now that you know the Best Books for Data Science, check out the Data Science Masters Program by Edureka, a trusted online learning company with a network of more than 250,000 satisfied learners spread across the globe.

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