Neyman [Paperback]

Jerzy Neyman received the National Medal of Science for laying the foundations of modern statistics and devising tests and procedures that have become essential parts of the knowledge of every statistician. Until his death in 1981 at the age of 87, Neyman was vigorously involved in the concerns and controversies of the day, a scientist whose personality and activity were integral parts of his contribution to science. His career is thus particularly well-suited for the non-technical life-story which Constance Reid has made her own in such well-received biographies of Hilbert and Courant. She was able to talk extensively with Neyman and have access to his personal and professional letters and papers. Her book will thus appeal to professional statisticians as well as amateurs wanting to learn about a subject which permeates almost every aspect of modern life.This book is the result of a suggestion made to me by Erich Lehmann of the Department of Statistics of the University of California at Berkeley. Throughout the writing of it I have enjoyed his assistance and companion? ship and that of his wife, Juliet Shaffer. In the beginning, writing about a man like Neyman, who was alive and still very active, I planned to limit myself to his recollections and records and to my personal observations of him during his eighty-fifth year. It soon became apparent, however, that I would need to supplement these with the recollections of his colleagues and former students. With his consent I consulted them. I am most grateful for the time and effort which so many people expended in talking and writing to me. I would like to mention especially the assistance I received from Lucien Le Cam and Elizabeth Scott and the very friendly cooperation of Egon S. Pearson. Without the latter's careful preservation of Neyman's early letters I would have found it impossible to write in any detail of the years from 1926 to 1938. A number of libraries and archives also provided valuable material. Thlóâ