Probability for Risk Management
Author: Matthew J., Phd Hassett, Donald, Phd Stewart, Donald A. Stewart
List Price: $75.00
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ISBN: 1566983479
Publisher: Actex Pubns Inc (May, 1999)
Sales Rank: 95,528
Average Customer Rating: 4 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
Not everything you need, but what you need
I passed the SoA/CAS Course 1/Exam 1 with this book. It is exactly at the level of understanding needed to pass the exam, no more, no less. After all, your goal is just to pass; that is it. My only admonishment is that it should not be your only source of study for probability for the exam: the exam questions are too unpredictable for that. If used in conjunction with past exams, though, you should succeed.I took an honors course in probability in college using Ross's book. It was useless (so was the class) and is totally inappropriate for the exam. It routinely used distributions (e.g., Pareto, lognormal) in its questions that if they EVER show up on an exam, you can pass if you skip them.
I also bought Probability: Science of Uncertainty. I will not go so far as to call it a waste of money, but it only added perspective to my studies, not knowledge. Its practice questions were also not very helpful.
If you are studying for an actuarial exam, Probability for Risk Management will get you there. After the first eleven chapters you will be able to understand the solutions to the past exam problems, which is where most of your study time should be spent anyway.
Of the books on the syllabus, this is the one to buy.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Too elementary
This text published by Actex, is clearly exclusively designed for the audience of students who are preparing for actuarial exam 1 (probability and calculus). It is paperback, and the typesetting is poor compared with other probability texts.This book is okay for a sort of remedial text, but much too easy for the serious actuarial student. This book is not going to provide adequate preparation, so be prepared to select another probability text such as Bean or Ross from the list.
Given the level of difficulty of the actuarial exams, the level of this textbook is much too low. Recommended only for those students who cannot take a course in probability and are not successful reading one of the other texts on the course of reading.
In short, if this is the right level text for you, the actuarial exam is not at your level.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Easy to read and understand
I bought this book to prepare for the first actuarial exam. The authors have written a book that is easy to follow and understand without a great deal of theory. The problems are not impossible, and the solutions to all of them are in the back of the book, not just the odd-numbered ones. If you are studying for Exam 1 and you are looking for a probability book, this is the one for you. Similar Products
Fundamentals of Probability (2nd Edition)
Probability: The Science of Uncertainty with Applications to Investments, Insurance, and Engineering
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