An Accidental Statistician

Celebrating the life of an admired pioneer instatistics

In this captivating and inspiring memoir, world-renownedstatistician George E. P. Box offers a firsthand account of hislife and statistical work. Writing in an engaging, charming style,Dr. Box reveals the unlikely events that led him to a career instatistics, beginning with his job as a chemist conductingexperiments for the British army during World War II. At thisturning point in his life and career, Dr. Box taught himself thestatistical methods necessary to analyze his own findings whenthere were no statisticians available to check his work.

Throughout his autobiography, Dr. Box expertly weaves a personaland professional narrative to illustrate the effects his work hadon his life and vice-versa. Interwoven between his research withtime series analysis, experimental design, and the qualitymovement, Dr. Box recounts coming to the United States, his familylife, and stories of the people who mean the most to him.

This fascinating account balances the influence of both personaland professional relationships to demonstrate the extraordinarylife of one of the greatest and most influential statisticians ofour time. An Accidental Statistician also features:

* Two forewords written by Dr. Box's formercolleagues and closest confidants

* Personal insights from more than a dozen statisticianson how Dr. Box has influenced and continues to touch their careersand lives

* Numerous, previously unpublished photos from theauthor's personal collection

An Accidental Statistician is a compelling read forstatisticians in education or industry, mathematicians, engineers,and anyone interested in the life story of an influentialintellectual who altered the world of modern statistics.