# Python Data Science Handbook by Jake VanderPlas

8 Hacker News commenters recommended Python Data Science Handbook by Jake VanderPlas and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** A well-written intro to data science and machine learning in Python that covers a lot of ground; the caveat raised is that it is more an introduction than depth.

## Why people recommend it

- Solid, accessible introduction to data science (3 comments): "This was the solid book to get into data science and ML scene. Covers everything." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46159156)) "it's more like an introduction. But it's pretty well written." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46122158)) "this seems to be a good intro level book" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46121830))
- Valued the author's earlier work (2 comments): "He had an awesome post on pivot table that I think is now a part of this book." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46121340)) "It was immensely useful and I've loved his work ever since." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46125445))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Build a Large Language Model (From Scratch) by Sebastian Raschka](https://hackerapproved.com/p/build-a-large-language-model.md): 16 recommend
- [Build an LLM from Scratch by Sebastian Raschka](https://hackerapproved.com/p/build-an-llm-from-scratch.md): 8 recommend
- [The Little Learner by Daniel P. Friedman and Anurag Mendhekar](https://hackerapproved.com/p/little-learner.md): 6 recommend
- [Probabilistic Machine Learning by Kevin Murphy](https://hackerapproved.com/p/probabilistic-machine-learning.md): 5 recommend
- [The Welch Labs Illustrated Guide to AI by Welch Labs](https://hackerapproved.com/p/welch-labs-illustrated-guide-to-ai.md): 5 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1098121228?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9781098121228) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Python Data Science Handbook by Jake VanderPlas", https://hackerapproved.com/p/python-data-science-handbook/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).