The book of the famous German mathematician and mechanic R. Mises in a popular form outlines the main ideas of probability theory and mathematical statistics. Written at a high scientific level, the book at the same time does not imply any special mathematical knowledge from the reader and contains almost no mathematical formulas. The book is recommended to a wide range of readers interested in the basics of theoretical statistics. Specialists from various fields of scientific activity - mathematicians, physicists, biologists, sociologists, economists, engineers - will also find a lot of value in it.