This textbook provides an introductory course in probability and statistical inference. Its emphasis in the probability portion of the text is on developing a clear and concrete understanding of probability distributions as models for real-world situations. This understanding of probability distributions is then used to develop the basic principles of statistical inference and to apply these ideas in a wide variety of applications. A particular feature of the book is the author's use of exercises to develop the reader's understanding of important concepts. Each exercise comes with two levels of solutions: the first level consists of hints, clarifications, and references to relevant discussions in the text; while the second level provides detailed and complete solutions. The author presupposes no previous knowledge on the half of the reader and carefully discusses each of the main concepts from probability and statistics as they are introduced. As a result, this book makes an excellent introduction to this central component of any curriculum which includes quantitative methods.