The text begins with a detailed analysis of linear models and ordinary least squares. Subsequent chapters explore extensions such as ridge regression, generalized linear models, and additive models. The second half focuses on the use of general-purpose algorithms for convex optimization and their application to tasks in statistical learning. Models covered include the elastic net, dense neural networks, convolutional neural networks (CNNs), and spectral clustering. A unifying theme throughout the text is the use of optimization theory in the description of predictive models, with a particular focus on the singular value decomposition (SVD). Through this theme, the computational approach motivates and clarifies the relationships between various predictive models.

Taylor Arnold is an assistant professor of statistics at the University of Richmond. His work at the intersection of computer vision, natural language processing, and digital humanities has been supported by multiple grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). His first book, Humanities Data in R, was published in 2015.

Michael Kane is an assistant professor of biostatistics at Yale University. He is the recipient of grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), DARPA, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. His R package bigmemory won the Chamber's prize for statistical software in 2010.

Bryan Lewis is an applied mathematician and author of many popular R packages, including irlba, doRedis, and threejs.