A fair point for sure, which is actually one of the reasons why I do tend to recommend the book. ML and stats are generally the more flashy and well-known part

A fair point for sure, which is actually one of the reasons why I do tend to recommend the book. ML and stats are generally the more flashy and well-known parts of data science, and so I've found that people new to the field often don't have major difficulties finding resources for learning them or finding the self motivation to dive into them. The data cleanup, on the other hand, is often the more important work to be done on projects while simultaneously being seen as the less enjoyable part. Learning how to do it well makes it a more interesting process, and pandas and this book lay a good foundation for that.