Elements of Information Theory [Book Review]
Elements of Information Theory is probably the first book that covers the subject of Information Theory (in Shannon's sense) in full generality and nothing more. It does not focus on coding theorems only, nor is it a combination of subjects from both information theory and coding theory. Instead, it contains besides the classical results in information theory, i.e., the fundamental limits in communication, also the contributions of information theory made to inter�ecting re­ search areas such as statistics, probability theory, economics, physics, computer science and mathematics. The discussions on this broad class of topics are perfectly balanced. Each subject gets the attention it deserves in the perspective of information theory. Based on lecture notes, this book serves as an introductory text for senior and graduate level students of communication theory, statistics and computer science. It can also be very useful for professionals in these fields who feel the desire to broaden their view. It will certainly give all of its readers a firm foundation in the field of information theory. The fact that the book is self-contained and rigorous docs not make it boring. In their proofs the authors have consistently aimed at sim­ plicity and elegance. It must have been a pleasant experience for them that nearly always this could be accomplished using information­ theoretical arguments. This resulted in a coherent text which is exciting not only for readers not very familiar with information theory but also for specialists. The book contains sixteen chapters including the introduction. All chapters are followed by a brief summary, a collection of problems and a set of historical notes. At the end of the book we find an overall summary, a biography and an index.