Top 25 Data Science Books in 2024- Learn Data Science Like an Expert

Data Science has emerged to become one of the most paid and highly reputed domains for professionals. As we see more and more companies adopting data science applications in their businesses, there is a surge in the requirement for skilled data science professionals. If you are considering moving in this domain, look into Great Learning’s Data Science Courses you can choose from. Here is a list of data science books for you to keep the ball rolling. 

Interested to learn more about Data Science? Check out Introduction to Data Science.

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Top Data Science Books for Beginners

  1. Practical Statistics for Data Scientists
  2. Introduction to Probability
  3. Introduction to Machine Learning with Python: A Guide for Data Scientists
  4. Python for Data Analysis
  5. Python Data Science Handbook
  6. R for Data Science
  7. Understanding Machine Learning: From Theory to Algorithms
  8. Deep Learning
  9. Mining of Massive Datasets
  10. The Elements of Statistical Learning — Data Mining, Inference, and Prediction
  11. The Art of Statistics — How to Learn from Data
  12. Data Science for Beginners
  13. Data Science for Business — What You Need to Know about Data Mining and Data Analytic-Thinking
  14. Build a Career in Data Science
  15. Clean Code — A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship
  16. The Art of Data Science — A Guide for Anyone Who Works With Data
  17. A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms: Level Up Your Core Programming Skills (2nd Edition)
  18. Deep Learning with Python
  19. Foundations of Deep Reinforcement learning python
  20. Big Data
  21. Fundamentals of Data Visualization 
  22. Storytelling with Data 
  23. Hands-On Machine Learning with Scikit-Learn and TensorFlow
  24. The Data Science Handbook
  25. Thinking with Data

Practical Statistics for Data Scientists 

Data Science Books - Practical Statistics for data scientists

About the book
This book is ideal for absolute beginners. It covers a vast range of topics critical to the field of data science in an easy-to-understand language. You can learn a lot about statistics in data science and can cover in-depth topics like randomization, distribution, sampling, etc. If you are starting from scratch, this book is for you. 

  • Author – Peter Bruce and Andrew Bruce
  • Price: 30.93 USD 
  • Get it here 

Introduction to Probability 

data science books - introduction to probability

About the book
Next in line after statistics is probability. It holds immense importance in the field of data science, and this book will introduce you to the concepts by taking examples from real-life problems. If you have studied basic probability in school, this book is built upon it. If you are studying probability for the very first time, you need to spend some extra time with it. This book covers core concepts and will help you build a strong foundation for data science

  • Author – Joseph K. Blitzstein and Jessica Hwang
  • Price – 74.16 USD
  • Get it here

Introduction to Machine Learning with Python: A Guide for Data Scientists 

data science books - introduction to ML with Python

About the book
Knowledge of Machine Learning is critical for a data science professional. This book helps you cover the basics of Machine Learning. If you practice with the book for a substantial time, you would build machine learning models on your own. This book has all the examples with Python, but even if you do not have prior knowledge of Python programming language, you will be able to learn it through this book. This book is for beginners to understand the basics of ML and Python. When you are through this book, it is recommended that you pick up an advanced level book to learn more about both Machine Learning and Python.

  • Author –  Andreas C. Müller and Sarah Guido
  • Price – 48.17 USD 
  • Get it here

Python for Data Analysis 

data science books - python for data analysis

About the book
Apart from Machine Learning, Python is also a popular programming language in Data Analytics. Also, data analytics is critical to data science. Hence this book is a complete guide for beginners in data science to learn the concepts of Data Analytics with Python. The book is fast-paced yet simple. You can expect to be building real applications within a week with the help of this book. It is amazingly structured and organised for the readers and gives a peek into the world of data analysts and data scientists, and the kind of work the indulge into in their role. 

  • Author – Wes McKinney
  • Price – 53.99 USD
  • Get it here
Check out this Free course on Basics of Time Series in Data Science

Data Science Books for Intermediate Level

Python Data Science Handbook 

data science books - Python Data Science Handbook - By Jake VanderPlas

About the book
This book is a great recommendation for those who have covered the basics of Python and are ready to explore and work with Python libraries. Python Data Science Handbook is an in-depth guide into all standard Python libraries such as Pandas, Numpy, Matplotlib, Scikit-learn and more. 

R for Data Science 

R for Data Science: Import, Tidy, Transform, Visualize, and Model Data

About the book
R is another popular programming language for Data Science applications. For those who have worked on Python, the next step is implementing data science applications on R. R for Data Science is the perfect book to pick up coding in R. It covers the concepts of data exploration, wrangling, programming, modelling, and communication. 

  • Author – Hadley Wickham and Garret Grolemund
  • Price – 11.53 USD
  • Get it here

Understanding Machine Learning: From Theory to Algorithms 

data science books - Understanding Machine Learning: From Theory to Algorithms

About the book
This is a great book for those who want a deeper understanding into machine learning concepts and algorithms. It covers the foundation of Machine Learning, algorithms in ML, additional learning models and advanced theory. This book provides a great reference for implementing machine learning algorithms yourself. An extensive theory behind algorithms helps enhance the understanding and application of the same. 

  • Author – Shai Shalev-Shwartz and Shai Ben-David
  • Price – 10.38 USD
  • Get it here

Data Science Books for Advanced Level

Deep Learning 

Deep Learning

About the book
This book is an amazing reference for deep learning algorithms. The book is not code-heavy but explains in-depth how to approach deep learning problems. The layout of the book is easy on the eyes with extensive use of bullets and images. Some of the topics covered in this book are introduction and explanation of the importance of deep learning; algorithms of backpropagation, convnets, recurrent neural nets; unsupervised deep learning; attention mechanisms and more.

  • Author – Ian Goodfellow, Yoshua Bengio, and Aaron Courville
  • Price – 60.63 USD
  • Get it here

Data Science Book for Data Mining

Mining of Massive Datasets 

Mining of  Massive Datasets

About the book
This is an extremely comprehensive book developed on the basis of various Stanford courses on large scale data mining and network analysis. As the name suggests, it focuses on mining of very large datasets. One can learn to develop production-level models at a large scale with the help of this book. The major topics covered in this book are mining data streams, MapReduce, building recommendation systems, link analysis, dimensionality reduction, and more.

  • Author – Jure Leskovec, Anand Rajaraman, Jeff Ullman
  • Price – 72.10 USD
  • Get it here

Other Important Data Science Books

The Elements of Statistical Learning — Data Mining, Inference, and Prediction

The elements of statistical learning - Data Mining, Inference and prediction

About the book
A valuable resource for anyone interested in statistics, this book uses a statistical approach to describe important ideas in different fields. It covers topics from supervised to unsupervised learning, neural networks, support vector machines, and more.

  • Author – Trevor Hastie, Robert Tibshirani, Jerome Friedman
  • Price – 21 USD
  • Get it here

The Art of Statistics — How to Learn from Data

The art of statistics - How to learn from data

About the book
This book, written by a world-renowned statistician, shows readers the art of deriving knowledge from raw data by focussing on the concepts and connections that shape math. This book not only shows how mathematicians solve statistical science to solve problems but also teaches us to think like them!

  • Author –  David Spiegelhalter
  • Price – 21.84 USD
  • Get it here

Data Science for Beginners

Data Science for Beginners

About the book
Created with a beginner in this field in mind, this powerful read delves deep into Python and Data Science fundamentals. This data science book will help you discover everything you need to get started.

  • Author – Andrew Park
  • Price – 75.79 USD
  • Get it here

Data Science for Business — What You Need to Know about Data Mining and Data Analytic-Thinking

Data Science for beginners

About the book
Written by renowned data science experts, this book introduces the fundamentals of data science and also helps you walk through the data based analytical thinking. This approach is important for getting useful knowledge and business value from the data.

  • Author –  Foster Provost and Tom Fawcett
  • Price – 11.53 USD 
  • Get it here

Build a Career in Data Science

Build a career in Data Science

About the book
This data science book will be your companion in landing your first data science job and developing to a managerial role. It covers topics such as adapting to company needs, preparing for a management role, lifecycle of a typical data science project.

  • Author – Emily Robinson and Jacqueline Nolis
  • Price – 26.71 USD
  • Get it here

Clean Code — A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship

Clean Code - A handbook of agile software craftmanship

About the book
This is a revolutionary data science book that has helped thousands of programmers in developing clean code. This book will allow you to think about what’s right about the code, what’s wrong with it, and will even give you a path to reassess your professional values.

  • Author – Robert C. Martin
  • Price – 9.70 USD
  • Get it here

The Art of Data Science — A Guide for Anyone Who Works With Data

The Art of Data Science — A Guide for Anyone Who Works With Data

About the book 
This data science book describes the process of analyzing data. Applicable to both practitioners and managers in data science, it provides an amazing overview of the data analysis workflow. It also gives an effective overview of how data analysis is primarily an art that involves iterative processes, with information learned at every step.

  • Author – Roger D. Peng and Elizabeth Matsui
  • Price – 20.28 USD
  • Get it here

A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms: Level Up Your Core Programming Skills (2nd Edition)

A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms: Level Up Your Core Programming Skills (2nd Edition)

About the book
This is a practical guide to understanding data structures and algorithms. It goes beyond theory and will help you in improving your programming skills. From learning how to use hash tables, trees, and graphs, to improving the efficiency of your code: you’ll learn it all in this data science book.

  • Author – Jay Wengrow
  • Price – 30.34 USD
  • Get it here

Deep Learning with Python

Deep Learning with Python

About the book
Written by the creator of Keras and Google AI researcher, this book will introduce you to the field of deep learning using Python and Keras library. It consists of intuitive explanations and practical examples that will give you a good platform to understand the concept of deep learning.

  • Author – Francois Chollet
  • Price – 10.81 USD 
  • Get it here 

Foundations of Deep Reinforcement Learning — Theory and Practice in Python

Foundations of Deep Reinforcement Learning — Theory and Practice in Python

About the book
This data science book is for anyone with advanced machine learning knowledge and wants to solve more complex problems using deep reinforcement learning. It is ideal for students and software engineers who have a working understanding of Python. 

  • Author – Laura Graesser and Wah Loon Keng
  • Price – 42.48 USD
  • Get it here

Big Data — A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think

Big Data — A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think

About the book
This book has been a finalist in the Financial Times Business Book of the Year. Big Data is an important and one of the first major books about this concept. It has 2 leading experts explaining what big data is, and how it will impact our lives in the years to come.

  • Author – Victor Mayer-Schonberger
  • Price – 4.49 USD
  • Get it here

Fundamentals of Data Visualization — A Primer on Making Informative and Compelling Figures

Fundamentals of Data Visualization — A Primer on Making Informative and Compelling Figures

About the book
This data science book takes you through commonly encountered visualization problems. It offers guidelines to turn large datasets into clear figures. It can help you understand the rationale behind effective visualization and also teach you to design more meaningful plots that get the right message across.

  • Author – Claus O. Wilke
  • Price – 18.21 USD
  • Get it here

Storytelling with Data — A Data Visualization Guide for Business Professionals

Storytelling with Data — A Data Visualization Guide for Business Professionals

About the book
This data science book will teach you how to communicate effectively with data. It will help you understand the fundamentals of data visualization and is definitely a must-read book for anyone who wants to present information clearly, briefly, and visually.

  • Author – Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic
  • Price – 41.61 USD
  • Get it here

Hands-On Machine Learning with Scikit-Learn and TensorFlow: Concepts, Tools, and Techniques to Build Intelligent Systems

About the book 
This book will show you how even programmers who don’t have much knowledge about deep learning can use tools to implement programs capable of learning from data. From simple linear regression and progressing to deep neural networks, you will learn a range of techniques from this book.

  • Author – Geron Aurelien
  • Price – 53.69 USD
  • Get it here

The Data Science Handbook

Data Science handbook

About the book 
The Data Science Handbook is a great source for information on big data software tools and data analysis techniques. The book is appropriate for those without the necessary skill sets who desire to practise data science. Researchers and beginning graduate students who need to learn about real-world analytics and broaden their skill set should also use this book as a reference.

Thinking with Data: How to Turn Information Into Insights

data science books - thinking with data

About the book 
Thinking with Data teaches methods for transforming data into knowledge you can apply. You’ll discover a framework for outlining your project, together with the Data you want to gather and the methods you plan to approach, arrange, and analyze the outcomes. Additionally, you’ll discover patterns of reasoning that will aid in identifying the actual issue that has to be resolved.

Author – Max Shron 
Price – 24.78 USD 

Get it here

While self-study is important to learning new things and technologies, a structured approach with a certification course takes you a long way in your domain.

We’re sure these books will allow you to venture into the world of data science as you enter the year 2021. Further, we recommend that you take your enthusiasm for data science to the next level by getting a certificate from The University of Texas at Austin with their PG program in Data Science and Business Analytics by Texas Combs. It is a comprehensive 6-month online program that offers a 360-degree view of the core concepts in data science and business analytics. The video lectures are created by the university faculty and live mentoring sessions by industry experts take place every weekend in small groups. These sessions allow learners to better understand the internal workings of the industry and promote peer-to-peer interaction. 

To get more info, download the program brochure and begin your journey in the field of data science.

Further Reading

  1. Artificial Intelligence Books For Beginners | Top 17 Books of AI for Freshers
  2. Top 10 Machine Learning Books you can add to your 2023 wish list
  3. Machine Learning Tutorial For Complete Beginners | Learn Machine Learning with Python
  4. Data Science Tutorial For Beginners | Learn Data Science Complete Tutorial

→ Explore this Curated Program for You ←

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Great Learning Editorial Team
The Great Learning Editorial Staff includes a dynamic team of subject matter experts, instructors, and education professionals who combine their deep industry knowledge with innovative teaching methods. Their mission is to provide learners with the skills and insights needed to excel in their careers, whether through upskilling, reskilling, or transitioning into new fields.

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