Python for Data Analysis — An Open Access Data Science Book

May 30, 2024

When I was starting to do more serious data work, I picked up a copy of the first edition of Python for Data Analysis. I really liked the book, and it helped me get familiar with pandas.

Turns out that it’s now available to read freely online!

The book is written by Wes McKinney, who is the creator of pandas as well as the co-creator of Apache Arrow and Ibis. This edition was released in 2022 and uses Python 3.10 and pandas 2.0, so it still holds up well. The beginning of the book also walks through some intro Python concepts, so it’s useful if you’re coming to Python from another language.

To me, the core value of the book is its overview of NumPy and pandas. If you’re a developer interested in using Python for anything data-related, you should give this book a shot.