Top Data books recommended by experts

At MentorCruise, we are all about making the most out of the experience of others. As part of that, we've connected and asked dozens of experts and professionals about their favourite Data books – and here are the answers.

Table of Contents

Fundamentals of Data

Understanding the concepts of Data starts with understanding the fundamentals. On your way to mastery, it's crucial for you to understand how certain concepts were derived, and why things work like they do. Starting with these resources is the best way to do so.

SQL QuickStart Guide: The Simplified Beginner's Guide to Managing, Analyzing, and Manipulating Data With SQL

Not sure how to prepare for the data-driven future?
This book shows you EXACTLY what you need to know to successfully use the SQL programming language to enhance your career!
Are you a developer who wants to expand your mastery to database management?
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The ubiquity of big data means that now more than ever there is a burning …

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Better Data Visualizations

Now more than ever, content must be visual if it is to travel far. Readers everywhere are overwhelmed with a flow of data, news, and text. Visuals can cut through the noise and make it easier for readers to recognize and recall information. Yet many researchers were never taught how to present their work visually.

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Lean Analytics: Use Data to Build a Better Startup Faster

If you’re involved with a startup, analytics help you find your way to the right product and market before the money runs out. But with a flood of information available, where do you start? ...

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Data Science for BusinesS

Based on an MBA course Provost has taught at New York University over the past ten years, Data Science for Business provides examples of real-world business problems to illustrate these principles. You’ll not only learn how to improve communication between business stakeholders and data scientists, but also how participate intelligently in your company’s data science projects. You’ll also disc…

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Storytelling with Data: A Data Visualization Guide for Business Professionals

Don't simply show your data—tell a story with it! Storytelling with Data teaches you the fundamentals of data visualization and how to communicate effectively with data. You'll discover the power of storytelling and the way to make data a pivotal point in your story. ...

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Naked Statistics: Stripping the Dread from the Data

The best-selling author of Naked Economics defies the odds with a book about statistics that you’ll welcome and enjoy. Once considered tedious, the field of statistics is rapidly evolving into a discipline Hal Varian, chief economist at Google, has actually called “sexy.” ...

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Additional Data Reading

These books are not required for you to learn Data, but they are highly recommended for you to deepen your knowledge.

Data science from Scratch

Data science libraries, frameworks, modules, and toolkits are great for doing data science, but they’re also a good way to dive into the discipline without actually understanding data science. In this book, you’ll learn how many of the most fundamental data science tools and algorithms work by implementing them from scratch.

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Data Science for Business: What You Need to Know about Data Mining and Data-Analytic Thinking

Written by renowned data science experts Foster Provost and Tom Fawcett, Data Science for Business introduces the fundamental principles of data science, and walks you through the "data-analytic thinking" necessary for extracting useful knowledge and business value from the data you collect. ...

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Weapons of Math Destruction

Weapons of Math Destruction is a 2016 American book about the societal impact of algorithms, written by Cathy O'Neil. It explores how some big data algorithms are increasingly used in ways that reinforce preexisting inequality.

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The Signal and the Noise

The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail – but Some Don't is a 2012 book by Nate Silver detailing the art of using probability and statistics as applied to real-world circumstances.

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Practical Statistics for Data Scientists: 50+ Essential Concepts Using R and Python

Statistical methods are a key part of data science, yet few data scientists have formal statistical training. Courses and books on basic statistics rarely cover the topic from a data science perspective. The second edition of this popular guide adds comprehensive examples in Python, provides practical guidance on applying statistical methods to data science, tells you how to avoid their misuse…

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Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy

We live in the age of the algorithm. Increasingly, the decisions that affect our lives—where we go to school, whether we get a car loan, how much we pay for health insurance—are being made not by humans, but by mathematical models. In theory, this should lead to greater fairness: Everyone is judged according to the same rules, and bias is eliminated.

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This list is curated by MentorCruise and can include Amazon affiliate links. Have any other suggestions? Add here.

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