Big Data

10 books to get you started on big data: TechRepublic's picks

By · August 16, 2016, 6:36 AM PST · hope_reese

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  • The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail—but Some Don't by Nate Silver

    Want to get your head around big data and predictive analytics? Check out TechRepublic's top ten titles to understand why data is so important, and how to work with it.

    February 2015: Analyst Nate Silver has been widely recognized for the success of FiveThirtyEight, a polling blog that has been extremely successful in predicting outcomes in politics, sports, and other areas. The Signal and the Noise tells the story of how forecasting can go right or wrong, based on human biases. The interweaving of big data and human nature makes this a captivating read, selected as Amazon's No. 1 Best NonFiction Book for 2012 and making it on the New York Times bestseller list.

    Also see: Hot tech books of 2016: Check out TechRepublic's top picks

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  • Big Data Science & Analytics: A Hands-On Approach by Arshdeep Bahga and Vijay Madisett

    April 2016: Bahga, a research scientist, and Madisett, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, are both affiliated with the Georgia Institute of Technology--one of the top technology schools in the country after MIT. This interactive, comprehensive guide includes case studies, and is meant for students of big data as well as big data service providers, who have some base knowledge but are interested in expanding their training in the field.

    Also see: Hot tech books of 2016: Check out TechRepublic's top picks

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  • Doing Data Science by Cathy O’Neil and Rachel Schutt

    October 2013: Toyota Research Institute's head of data, Jim Adler, calls this book "a grounding dose of data skepticism, which encourages statistical data exploration and provides practical examples on how to do it right." Written by Rachel Schutt, senior vice president of data science at News Corp, and data science consultant Cathy O'Neil, a senior data scientist at Johnson Research Labs, it's based on Columbia University's Introduction to Data Science class.

    Also see: Hot tech books of 2016: Check out TechRepublic's top picks

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  • Data Science for Business by Foster Provost and Tom Fawcett

    July 2013: This important introduction to data science, written by experts Provost and Fawcett, explains the kinds of techniques we now use in data mining. It comes highly recommended by Jim Adler. Adler, head of data at Toyota Research Institute (TRI). Formed in January 2016, TRI is in charge of using data in Toyota's efforts to develop autonomous driving capabilities and robots. Adler calls the book "a systematic approach for applying data science where performance includes both technical AND business metrics."

    Also see: Hot tech books of 2016: Check out TechRepublic's top picks

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  • Python Essential Reference by David Beazley

    July 2009: Toyota Research Institute's Jim Adler calls this title, "the go-to source for nuts-and-bolts Python idioms used in data analysis like encoding, generators/coroutines, data structures, threads, and exception handling." Not a bad recommendation, especially coming from the head of data, in charge of Toyota's efforts toward developing driverless vehicles and robots.

    Also see: Hot tech books of 2016: Check out TechRepublic's top picks

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  • Predictive Analytics: The Power to Predict Who Will Click, Buy, Lie, or Die / Edition 2: by Eric Siegel

    February 2013: This popular guide to prediction, used by more than 30 universities, was deemed "Mesmerizing and fascinating" by The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. It explains how big data can be used to predict human behavior.

    Also see: Hot tech books of 2016: Check out TechRepublic's top picks

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  • Dataclysm: Love, Sex, Race, and Identity—What Our Online Lives Tell Us about Our Offline Selves by Christian Rudder

    September 2015: This paperback is an update to Rudder's first book on how our online behavior yields important data about our lives. Rudder, co-founder of OkCupid, said in an interview on the subject of what researchers can learn from online behavior, "in the age of Facebook and Google, [it's] pretty much everything. To the extent that friendship, anger, sex, love, and whatever else happen online, we can investigate them."

    Also see: Hot tech books of 2016: Check out TechRepublic's top picks

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  • UNCHARTED: Big Data as a Lens on Human Culture By Erez Aiden and Jean-Baptiste Michel

    December 2013: In this wide-ranging book, Erez Aiden, a professor of genetics at Baylor College of Medicine, and Jean-Baptiste Michel, an associate scientist at Harvard, shines a light on the history and consequences of big data. The authors, who created the Google Ngram Viewer, tackle everything from explaining how big data impacts governments, Hollywood, and our everyday life. Uncharted is just the thing to get your head around how big data impacts us all.

    Also see: Hot tech books of 2016: Check out TechRepublic's top picks

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  • BIG DATA: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think By Viktor Mayer-Schönberger and Kenneth Cukier

    March 2013: This important guide, called "illuminating" by The New York Times, is a must-read for those new to big data. Not only do the authors explain why data is crucial, but they urge caution in how we use data, writing "that data-driven decisions are poised to augment or overrule human judgement."

    Also see: Hot tech books of 2016: Check out TechRepublic's top picks

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  • Epic Measures: One Doctor. Seven Billion Patients by Jeremy N. Smith

    April 2015: In Epic Measures, journalist Jeremy N. Smith tracks doctor and economist Christopher Murray's groundbreaking and sisyphean attempt to accurately measure how everyone on Earth lives and dies. The result is both an intimate portrait of an incredible life and one that shows how big data is being used to solve our biggest challenges.

    Also see: Hot tech books of 2016: Check out TechRepublic's top picks

    Image: Amazon.com

The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail—but Some Don't by Nate Silver

Want to get your head around big data and predictive analytics? Check out TechRepublic's top ten titles to understand why data is so important, and how to work with it.

February 2015: Analyst Nate Silver has been widely recognized for the success of FiveThirtyEight, a polling blog that has been extremely successful in predicting outcomes in politics, sports, and other areas. The Signal and the Noise tells the story of how forecasting can go right or wrong, based on human biases. The interweaving of big data and human nature makes this a captivating read, selected as Amazon's No. 1 Best NonFiction Book for 2012 and making it on the New York Times bestseller list.

Also see: Hot tech books of 2016: Check out TechRepublic's top picks

Image: Amazon.com

Related Topics:
Big Data Digital Transformation Internet of Things CXO Artificial Intelligence Data Management

By Hope Reese

Hope Reese is a writer based in Louisville, Kentucky, currently living in Budapest. Her work has appeared in the Atlantic, the Boston Globe, Vox, Vice and other publications.

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