[craigching]

ISL is a more introductory book than Bishop or Murphy. There's no reason not to read all of them, they're all excellent books that cover different topics. I'd also throw in Elements of Statistical Learning from the same authors as ISL(R/P). I've read ISL, ESL, and Bishop, started Murphy but didn't finish it (no real reason, just lost track of it when I got busy). I highly recommend any and all of these texts.