"...this book reads well, and it is a welcome addition to the literature. I recommend its use as a text for an introductory graduate level course."-JASA"...provides numerical answers with real data."-L'Enseignment Mathematique"From the preface: 'the aim is to show how the main body of currently used statistical techniques can be generated from a few key concepts, in particular the likelihood'. The author achieves this aim extremely well."-Publication of the International Statistical Institute