I love history of mathematics books like this one that have the guts to delve into the actual mathematics involved while retaining a narrative thread. I use it with my children to illustrate why mathematics is important. What problems were people trying to solve? How solutions were arrived at in steps over time rather than as deus ex machina. This is much more effective than presenting mathematics as most schools, out of context as a series of recipes. The book is divided into three main parts:The Development of Mathematical Statistics in Astronomy and Geodesy before 1827The Struggle to Extend a Calculus of Probabilities to the Social SciencesA Breakthorugh in Studies of Heredity