Now in widespread use, generalized additive models (GAMs) have evolved into a standard statistical methodology of considerable flexibility. While Hastie and Tibshirani's outstanding 1990 research monograph on GAMs is largely responsible for this, there has been a long-standing need for an accessible introductory treatment of the subject that also e
Table of Contents:
Linear Models. Generalized Linear Models. Introducing GAMs. Some GAM Theory. GAMs in Practice: mgcv. Mixed Models and GAMMs. Appendices.
Review :
“…A strength of this book is the presentation style … . The step-by-step instructions are complemented with clear examples and sample code … . In addition to emphasizing the practical aspects of the methods, a healthy dose of theory helps the reader understand the fundamentals of the underlying approach. The generous use of graphs and plots helps visualization and enhances understanding. … this is an excellent reference book for a broad audience …”
—Christine M. Anderson-Cook (Los Alamos National Laboratory), Journal of the American Statistical Association, June 2007
"This is an amazing book. The title is an understatement. Certainly the book covers an introduction to generalized additive models (GAMs), but to get there, it is almost as if Simon has left no stone unturned. In chapter 1 the usual 'bread and butter' linear models is presented boldly. Chapter 2 continues with an accessible presentation of the generalized linear model that can be used on its own for a separate introductory course. The reader gains confidence, as if anything is possible, and the examples using software puts modern and sophisticated modeling at their fingertips. I was delighted to see the presentation of GAMs uses penalized splines - the author sorts through the clutter and presents a well-chosen toolbox. Chapter 6 brings the smoothing/GAM presentation into contemporary and state-of-the-art light, for one by making the reader aware of relationships among P-splines, mixed models, and Bayesian approaches. The author is careful and clever so that anyone at any level will have new insights from his presentation. This book modernizes and complements Hastie and Tibshirani's landmark book on the topic."
—Professor Brian D. Marx, Louisiana State University, USA
“This attractively written advanced level text shows its style by starting with the question ‘How old is the universe?’. …It serves also as a manual for the author’s mgcv package, which is one of the R’s recommended packages. …The style and emphasis, and the attention to practical data analysis issue, make this a highly appealing volume. …I strongly recommend this book.”
—John Maindonald, Australian National University, Journal of Statistical Software, Vol. 16, July 2006
"In summary, the book is highly accessible and a fascinating read. It meets the author’s aim of providing a fairly full, but concise, theoretical treatment, explaining how the models and methods work. I would recommend it to anyone interested in statistical modelling."
– Weiqi Luo, University of Leeds, in Journal of Applied Statistics, July 2007, Vol. 34, No. 5
