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Reviews (5)

Difficult to interpret
This book is very comprehensive, so it is a good reference book at any level. However, it is often difficult to interpret and tends to jump around from topic to topic. I do not think this is a good book for someone who is looking to learn statistical methods from the ground up or for someone who is doing a self-study, but it may be useful to people who are taking introductory statistics and want a book that provides more details on methods. There are almost no examples in this book. It definitely does not hold your hand.

The bible of biostatistics.
This is definitely one of the most comprehensive of all biostatistics textbooks out there and it is also the best. Authoritative in style, it starts from the very basics and surveys in *detail* almost every method in biostatistics.
Good Primer of Medical Statistical Theory
This edition if the classic text is extensively revised from previous editions. It offers a good background of theoretical considerations in biomedical statistics. It is particularly useful for the non-statistician physician who is involved in clinical trials. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biometry    2. Biostatistics    3. Life Sciences - Biology - General    4. Medical    5. Medical / Nursing    6. Medical Research    7. Medicine    8. Public Health    9. Research    10. Statistical methods    11. methods    12. Epidemiology & medical statistics    13. MEDICINE_RESEARCH    14. Medical / Research   

Subjects:  1. Biostatistics    2. Mathematics    3. Medical / Nursing    4. Probability & Statistics - General    5. Research    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Medical / Biostatistics    8. Medical research    9. clinical trials    10. monitoring   

Editorial Review

Had it not been for viruses, the U.S. and Canada might today be one country;the African slave trade may not have been as extensive; and the Spanish almost certainlywouldn't have conquered the Aztecs and other New World native peoples. In fact, viruseshave affected world history more extensively than most of us can imagine. Read more

Reviews (5)

Fascinating!
I ordered three books on similar subjects, "Viruses, Plagues, and History", "Man and Microbes", and "Plagues and Peoples" at the same time.Each book has something different to recommend it.My least favorite was "Plagues and Peoples".The writing was pompous and cumbersome, and while the thesis of the book, that man's relationship to society and our planet is pathogenic, is interesting, it can be conveyed in one sentence.There is not a lot of readable material about the actual history of disease in the book.I got a lot more by far out of both "Man and Microbes" and "Viruses, Plagues, and History".Both of these books are filled with interesting facts and stories of how disease has impacted human history.I will definitely keep and re-read both books.As an earlier reviewer noted, the first section of "Viruses, Plagues, and History", entitled "Introduction to the Principles of Virology" is pretty intimidating.If the science bothers the reader too much, it really doesn't hurt to skip this chapter.Maybe the rest of the book will interest the non-scientific reader enough so he will go back and read this section later.Part Two of the book is entitled "Success Stories".It contains fascinating and very graphic descriptions of some very bad diseases and interesting stories about the effects these diseases have had on the course of history.Part Three is "Present and Future Challenges", about some of the newly emerging diseases that are making headlines today.The author is a true professional in the biomedical field, and in his preface, he tells about reading "Microbe Hunters" in junior high and how it inspired him in his education and career to meet many of the foremost experts on viral diseases and become one himself. I think this is a very, very interesting book.

Interesting quick read
Although this book is not exhaustive or comprehensive by any means, I thought it was a great quick read. It serves as an excellent introduction to several infamous plagues and illnesses. The histories that are recounted are by far the most entertaining parts of the book. If you are interested in medical/biological histories at an introductory level, or if you just want to know more about some intriguing viruses and bacterial infections, I suggest reading this book.

The focus on historical impact makes this book worthwhile.
It is a shame that the decisive impact of communicable diseases on history are typically underplayed in school books. This information needs to be known by every educated person. Dr. Oldstone's book provides both an account of medical progress and its context in social and cultural history. In meeting these goals, this book succeeds admirably. Dr. Oldstone writes well. His expertise shines in his understanding of critical events in scientific development, and his knowledge of the contributions of both well-known and obscure scientists indicates a mastery of the breadth of the field. This scholarship is enhanced by his personal interactions with many of the 20th Century's great virologists, many of them familiar names, including Salk, Sabin, Montagnier, Gallo and Enders, among others. Some of the best illustrations in the books come from Dr. Oldstone's own research.Read more

Subjects:  1. Epidemiology    2. Forensic Medicine    3. General    4. History    5. Science    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Virus diseases    8. Diseases & disorders    9. History / General    10. Life Sciences | Microbiology | Virology    11. Public health & preventive medicine    12. Social history   

Reviews (1)

Good introduction
A well-written introductory book. Broad range of material make it a good reference for new comers in survival analysis. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biostatistics    2. Clinical trials    3. Medical    4. Medical / Nursing    5. Research    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Statistical methods    8. Survival analysis (Biometry)    9. Applied mathematics    10. Epidemiology & medical statistics    11. Mathematics / Statistics    12. Medical research   

Subjects:  1. Epidemiology    2. Health/Fitness    3. Infectious Diseases    4. Medical    5. Medical / Nursing    6. Epidemiology & medical statistics    7. Infectious & contagious diseases    8. Mathematics for scientists & engineers    9. Medical / Infectious Diseases    10. Medical parasitology    11. Medicine | Immunology & Infectious Disease    12. Tropical medicine   

Reviews (11)

A guilty pleasure
Although I have long since graduated to much less easygoing fare, I love this book. When I was a confused and clueless medical student, this was the first text that helped me to come to terms with biostatistical concepts.
Best intro stat book I've found
I took stat 20 years ago, and decided I needed an update, particularly regarding how to calculate sample size:this book was the ticket.A lot about sample size always seemed to me to be smoke-and-mirrors, and WHEN that's so (not always, but sometimes!), Norman and Streiner admit it, saving the learner a lot of frustration. Money well spent.

The best biostatistics review ever!
I keep a copy of this book in my office to loan out to students who are reviewing for biostatistics exams, and colleagues who feel the need to brush up on their biostats.
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Subjects:  1. Biometry    2. Biostatistics    3. Data processing    4. Life Sciences - Biology - General    5. Medical    6. Medical / Nursing    7. Public Health    8. Science    9. Epidemiology & medical statistics    10. Mathematics for scientists & engineers   

Reviews (1)

A must read for scale development
This is a must read for those laymen who would like to get started with developing their own measurement scales. Where many references in scale development drop a chapter in scale reliability and validity testing, they are far from comprehensive. Here is a monograph that discusses this critical issue in detail. It is written in a easily understood manner, with good balance between theories and applications. The use of factor analytic techniques (exploratory) for testing scale validity though assumes readers a prerequisite understand of this multivariate technique. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Methodology    2. Quantitative Techniques In The Social Sciences    3. Research    4. Social sciences    5. Sociology    6. Statistical methods    7. Social Science / Research   

Subjects:  1. Allied Health Education    2. Allied Health Services - General    3. Biostatistics    4. Hospitalization    5. Medical    6. Medical / Nursing    7. Medical statistics    8. Medicine    9. Public Health    10. Statistical methods    11. Biology, Life Sciences    12. Health & Fitness / General    13. Higher & further education    14. Mathematics for scientists & engineers    15. Nursing & Ancillary Services    16. Public health & preventive medicine   

Reviews (6)

Excellent source of information for the non-biostatician
Comprehensive, succinct with relevant examples that make the teaching points clear to even a non-biostatician like myself. A very fun book
. new approach to teach stats to health professionals
This very recent book is already getting rave reviews from health professionals particularly in the US Navy where Dr. Riffenburgh is known. I recently met Dr. Riffenburgh at an ASA chapter meeting in San Diego and again at the Joint Statistical Meetings in Indianapolis this past August. The Foreword by Vice Admiral Richard Nelson sets the stage for the book and praises Dr. Riffenburgh.Read more

Subjects:  1. Applied    2. Epidemiology    3. Mathematics    4. Medical statistics    5. Probability & Statistics - General    6. Research    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Epidemiology & medical statistics    9. Technology / Industrial Health & Safety   

Subjects:  1. Biostatistics    2. Case studies    3. Clinical Chemistry    4. Clinical trials    5. Data processing    6. Medical    7. Medical / Nursing    8. Medical / Biostatistics    9. Medical research   

Subjects:  1. Health Surveys    2. Medical    3. Medical / Nursing    4. Public Health    5. Research    6. Statistical methods    7. Medical / Public Health    8. Medical research   

Subjects:  1. Life Sciences - General    2. Mathematics    3. Probability & Statistics - General    4. Science    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Mathematics and Science    7. Medical / Biostatistics   

Reviews (1)

Review of Principles and Practice of Public Health Surveillance
This text book is an excellent reference for epidemiologists and health professionals who need to establish surveillance systems. The text book takes the beginner by the hand and explains what to do (what are the essential tasks required to decide, what data do you need to collect, and what for what specific purpose you might use it) and how to do it (steps to take and considerations in management of systems and quality control) and how to make sense of the data you've collected (data analyses).
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Subjects:  1. Medical    2. Medical / Nursing    3. Population Surveillance    4. Public Health    5. Public Health (General)    6. Public health surveillance    7. methods    8. Epidemiology & medical statistics    9. Medical / Public Health    10. Medicine | Public Health   

Subjects:  1. Biometry    2. Biostatistics    3. Health Care Delivery    4. Medical    5. Medical / Nursing    6. Medical statistics    7. Medicine    8. Public Health    9. Public Health (Specific Aspects)    10. Research    11. Science/Mathematics    12. Statistics    13. Epidemiology & medical statistics    14. Medical / Health Care Delivery    15. Probability & statistics   

Reviews (1)

Simple .......but yet comprehensive
This is undoubtedly, one of the best books I have read in this area.The authors follow an appropriate sequence in terms of addressing scale development, testing and analyses issues. The best thing about the book is that it is really easy to comprehend and covers all the important areas. I feel it is a "must buy" for professionals in the area of health-related quality of life and outcomes research. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Epidemiology    2. Evaluation    3. Health Care Delivery    4. Health status indicators    5. Health surveys    6. Measurement    7. Medical    8. Medical / Nursing    9. Nursing - General    10. Public health    11. Epidemiology & medical statistics    12. Health systems & services    13. Medical / Epidemiology    14. Medicine | Epidemiology & Biostatistics   

Reviews (3)

Good start for someone who is interested in the subject
Modern Infectious Disease Epidemiolgy was written from the angle of a clinician.It provides some interesting reading which is different from the usual types of epidemiology texts.Highly recommended for those who are interested in infectious disease epidemiology.Previous knowledge is not a must in understanding this book.I find it worth reading though I have received training in both clinical medicine and epidemiology as the author illustrates the materials in a different angle from the usual textbooks of epidemiology.

at last an intro epi book that takes infectious disease seriously
Introductory epidemiology texts have historically been very weak on the special features of the epidemiology of infectious disease. The only texts available that adequately covered infectious disease epidemiology were too intense (mathematically and otherwise) for an undergraduate course, too expensive to impose on students, and/or lacking in the broad concepts of epidemiology that apply to non-infectious as well as infectious diseases.Dr. Giesecke's book smoothly integrates the broad concepts of epidemiology with the specific features of infectious disease.You will find here all the requisite concepts of introductory epidemiology such as incidence and prevalence, sensitivity and specificity, case-control and cohort studies, confounding and interaction.You will also find chapters on seroepidemiology, vaccination epidemiology, mathematical models for epidemics (with relatively low intensity math that most undergrads might handle), the study of contact patterns and other topics related to infectious disease, and others.In all this, Dr. Giesecke uses intuitive explanations that make difficult subjects comprehensible. Teachers of epidemiology will find this book very useful for introductory epidemiology courses.As a primer and/or refresher for those in public health and various medical professions, this book is--among a vast multitude of competitors--uniquely fitting.

A good introduction.
Gieskecke has written a good introduction to epidemiology in general, butfocuses on infectious disease epidemiology and how it is different from theother fields of epidemiology (e.g., the victims of an infectious diseasecan also be the source for new infections).I liked the organization andstructure of the book.This is a good book for the beginner, but notsomeone seeking a thorough grounding in the issues. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Communicable Diseases    2. Epidemiologic Methods    3. Epidemiology    4. Infectious Diseases    5. Medical    6. Medical / Nursing    7. Public Health    8. Epidemiology & medical statistics    9. Medical / Epidemiology    10. Medicine | Epidemiology & Biostatistics   

Reviews (2)

Boring as hell
I drudged my way through the early chapters of this book. Most all-star topics in epidemiology are reliably laid out there. Unfortunately, the book is boring as hell. The one time I tried to use one of examples given in the book to calculate something (power or sample size?) I got hopelessly lost - the layout does not allow formulas to stand out. I found class notes and handouts much more useful than this book.

Good reference
I think this book,Methods in Observational Epidemiology, might be verygood reference to many scientists, especially biostatistist orepidemiologists. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biostatistics    2. Epidemiology    3. Health/Fitness    4. Medical    5. Medical / Nursing    6. Methodology    7. Public Health    8. Research    9. Statistical methods    10. Epidemiology & medical statistics    11. Medical / Epidemiology    12. Medicine | Epidemiology & Biostatistics   

Subjects:  1. Biostatistics    2. Clinical Chemistry    3. Clinical trials    4. Medical    5. Medical / Nursing    6. Multivariate analysis    7. Probability & Statistics - Multivariate Analysis    8. Research    9. Statistical methods    10. Medical / Biostatistics    11. Medical research   

Subjects:  1. Biostatistics    2. Mathematics    3. Probability & Statistics - General    4. Science/Mathematics    5. Mathematics / Statistics    6. Probability & statistics   

Subjects:  1. Animal Physiology    2. Congresses    3. Control    4. Diptera    5. Epidemiology    6. Life Sciences - Biology - Molecular Biology    7. Medical / Nursing    8. Mosquitoes    9. Science    10. Science/Mathematics    11. Smell    12. Epidemiology & medical statistics    13. Infectious & contagious diseases    14. Medical microbiology & virology    15. Parasitology    16. Science / Molecular Biology