Designed for a one-semester, first-year graduate course in probability and statistical inference, this text will serve students in a variety of programs, including engineering, economics, agriculture, bioscience, finance, and psychology. Mukhopadhyay (statistics, University of Connecticut) reviews basic concepts and methods in probability theory, moments, and moment generating functions, then moves on to cover areas such as multivariate random variables, sampling distribution, convergence, point estimation, Bayesian methods, and large-sample methods. The author also provides a historical context for statistics and statistical discoveries. Learning features include chapter exercises and selected answers, worked examples, and computer simulations. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)