Rick Durrett received his Ph.D. in operations research from Stanford University in 1976. After nine years at UCLA, he came to Cornell University in 1985, where he is a professor of mathematics. He is the author of 8 books and more than 170 journal articles on a wide variety of topics, and he has supervised more than 40 Ph.D. students. He is a member of the National Academy of Science, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics.

'The book has a nice interplay between probability modeling and scientific applications, whether from biology, sports, or discussions of China's one-child policy. Many of the examples are thought provoking, including ones on DNA samples for paternity cases and others about the O. J. Simpson trial. As an instructor, I enjoy digging into these examples in class. And the large selection of interesting problems builds basic skills and deepens or extends the main ideas.' Professor Michael Phelan, University of California, Irvine

• 1. Basic concepts; 2. Combinatorial probability; 3. Conditional probability; 4. Markov chains; 5. Continuous distributions; 6. Limit theorems; 7. Option pricing.

Rick Durrett received his Ph.D. in operations research from Stanford University in 1976. After nine years at UCLA, he came to Cornell University in 1985, where he is a professor of mathematics. He is the author of 8 books and more than 170 journal articles on a wide variety of topics, and he has supervised more than 40 Ph.D. students. He is a member of the National Academy of Science, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics.

'The book has a nice interplay between probability modeling and scientific applications, whether from biology, sports, or discussions of China's one-child policy. Many of the examples are thought provoking, including ones on DNA samples for paternity cases and others about the O. J. Simpson trial. As an instructor, I enjoy digging into these examples in class. And the large selection of interesting problems builds basic skills and deepens or extends the main ideas.' Professor Michael Phelan, University of California, Irvine

• 1. Basic concepts; 2. Combinatorial probability; 3. Conditional probability; 4. Markov chains; 5. Continuous distributions; 6. Limit theorems; 7. Option pricing.

Rick Durrett received his Ph.D. in operations research from Stanford University in 1976. After nine years at UCLA, he came to Cornell University in 1985, where he is a professor of mathematics. He is the author of 8 books and more than 170 journal articles on a wide variety of topics, and he has supervised more than 40 Ph.D. students. He is a member of the National Academy of Science, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics.

'The book has a nice interplay between probability modeling and scientific applications, whether from biology, sports, or discussions of China's one-child policy. Many of the examples are thought provoking, including ones on DNA samples for paternity cases and others about the O. J. Simpson trial. As an instructor, I enjoy digging into these examples in class. And the large selection of interesting problems builds basic skills and deepens or extends the main ideas.' Professor Michael Phelan, University of California, Irvine

• 1. Basic concepts; 2. Combinatorial probability; 3. Conditional probability; 4. Markov chains; 5. Continuous distributions; 6. Limit theorems; 7. Option pricing.