The omnipresent book in machine learning circles titled "Neural Networks for Pattern Recognition" might now have got a successer. At least the author Chistoffer Bishop has August 28 published a new book titled "Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning" which very much looks like natural update. The change of the term "neural networks" for the more fascionable "machine learning" tells it own little story of whats hot and whats not.

An excerpt from the editoral review: "For example, Bayesian methods have grown from a specialist niche to become mainstream, while graphical models have emerged as a general framework for describing and applying probabilistic techniques. The practical applicability of Bayesian methods has been greatly enhanced by the development of a range of approximate inference algorithms such as variational Bayes and expectation propagation, while new models based on kernels have had a significant impact on both algorithms and applications. This completely new textbook reflects these recent developments while providing a comprehensive introduction to the fields of pattern recognition and machine learning."

The book is available at Amazon.