★★★★★ 5
One of the best machine learning books...
Format: Paperback, Format: Paperback
Machine Learning can often be intimidating whether you are starting out or already a practitioner. It is easy to get stuck on one concept, walk away frustrated, or just copy that code you find on StackOverflow without really understanding what it does. What the authors of this book, Machine Learning with PyTorch and Scikit-Learn, have managed to do is to keep the reader engaged giving a deeper illustration as to how the concepts work. In this book, you get practical code examples, a detailed explanation of how the various library tools work, and exposure to the mathematical concepts behind machine learning algorithms. In addition, what I like about the book unlike many machine learning books is that the authors have managed to intuitively explain how each algorithm works, how to use them, and the mistake you need to avoid.
I have not read a Machine Learning book that better explains Transformers as this one does. The authors have managed to give a detailed dive into this model architecture through well-explained codes and illustrations. As a reader, you walk away having intuitively grasped the concepts of attention and self-attention in ways that will make this crucial NLP architecture clear. You get exposed to pre-trained models from HuggingFace library which really helps to have that hands-on experience working with large datasets.
As they have done throughout the book, the authors have broken down those complex mathematical operations into simple explanations that are easy to follow. What I generally like about the book is how it seamlessly connects all the chapters, not throwing off the reader. There are numerous external resources quoted throughout the book. This helps spark that curiosity to dig deeper. In addition, you get introduced to PyTorch, getting exposed to all those sophisticated libraries that help the reader learn how to maximize their compute power. I would say it is not intimidating at all even if you have not used PyTorch before.
I would recommend this book to anybody seeking a textbook that is both easy to read and modern in its content. If were to rate the book I will give it a 10/10 as it really applies to both beginners and experienced practitioners, covers all the concepts one needs to apply in their operations, and acts as a quick reference.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2022