The pioneering research of Hirotugu Akaike has an international reputation for profoundly affecting how data and time series are analyzed and modelled and is highly regarded by the statistical and technological communities of Japan and the world. His 1974 paper "A new look at the statistical model identification" (IEEE Trans Automatic Control, AC-19, 716-723) is one of the most frequently cited papers in the area of engineering, technology, and applied sciences (according to a 1981 Citation Classic of the Institute of Scientific Information). It introduced the broad scientific community to model identification using the methods of Akaike's criterion AIC. The AIC method is cited and applied in almost every area of physical and social science. The best way to learn about the seminal ideas of pioneering researchers is to read their original papers. This book reprints 29 papers of Akaike's more than 140 papers. This book of papers by Akaike is a tribute to his outstanding career and a service to provide students and researchers with access to Akaike's innovative and influential ideas and applications. To provide a commentary on the career of Akaike, the motivations of his ideas, and his many remarkable honors and prizes, this book reprints "A Conversation with Hirotugu Akaike" by David F. Findley and Emanuel Parzen, published in 1995 in the journal Statistical Science. This survey of Akaike's career provides each of us with a role model for how to have an impact on society by stimulating applied researchers to implement new statistical methods.
