Rating: 
Summary: Mediocre at best.
Review: I found this book to be mediocre. I am one of the intended readers of the book with no experience in programming. Granted that this book is intended for a textbook of an introductory computer science class, it still has room for improvement in terms of getting the reader to start programming from the get-go, and many other.First of all, this book is hard to follow. This does not mean that what is written is hard to understand (in fact, the author uses an easy-to-understand language), but poor explanation of key concepts (cocepts such as "objects" and "classes" are thrown at the reader with poor explanantion for the first time, then later verbosely explained. I was really bothered by this way of explanation), repetition of features explaned in a few pages ago, sometimes mind-boggingly detialed explanation of not-so-used features together make this a mediocre introductory book (do I need to add the poor editing of grammatical errors?). Combined with these, there are many sections divided from the main body of discussion, like Java Tips and Gotcha, which are intended to highlight key comcepts and pitfalls, but nonetheless contribute to the disruption of the flow of the main discussion (this surprisingly makes it hard to refer back to the book for some information buried somewhere in the main body, as beginners often do). All in all, the style of writing and the poorly thought-out design of explanation (poorly placed exmaple programs in the middle of discussion, although the author tries to amend this by repeating parts of the exmaple programs a lot) does not make this book stand out in millions of computer books reaching out for beginners. In conclusion, this book is not different from many other computer books. Considering the price (which is NOT justifiable by the quality of the book and its intended usage as a college textbook), you are better off looking for other cheaper Java books that at least achieve what this book does. For those who have read this book: In the first few chapters the author gives many exemples of programs manupilating just numbers. Granted that beginners should start something small and that manupilating numbers might serve fine in order to introduce ways of programming, I thought I was learning how to build a calculator. This part is hardly inspiring for the reader...unless the reader wants to build a calculator. This is an introductory college textbook. The author bears the burden of inspiring the reader about the subject, computer science in this case, and the calculator examples certainly do not do for many people.
Rating: 
Summary: At a loss for words
Review: I give this book the highest praise I can think of --> I can't think of anything negative to say about it. Even the tiny details are "right," like the texture of the cover in one's hands, the high quality of the paper that was used, and the way it lies flat when opened. The author's style tells me he is a natural-born teacher. This is not a 1000-page tome, like so many of the "Learn Java Instantly" books on the market. Simply a pleasure to read and use.
Rating:
Summary: The book is excellent!!!
Review: I have found many kinds of java books, but not many books are really suited for "a beginner", but now i have found this book
for a beginner to study. i am so happy.
Rating:
Summary: Best Intro to CS and Java Book out there
Review: i have gone through about 5 books on java but this book along with thinking in java are top shelf. if you are just starting out then savitch's book is a better choice than thinking in java, which assumes prior programming xprience and knowledge. the only complaint against savitch's book is not having a solution to the programming excercises, but that should not prevent you from getting this book. i think it works better because it forces you to solve for the solution.
Rating:
Summary: Great introduction to Java and object oriented programming
Review: I have just finnished an intoductory Java course at the local JC which used this particular book. This book would work great for someone learning Java on their own, and is even better when used in a course.
Rating:
Summary: Well worth going through
Review: I haven't gone through very many Java books to compare this to, but I can highly recommend this book. For the beginner, it explains things very well, breaking down concepts into bite size pieces, and reinforcing them later. The exercises also help to reinforce and really learn what the author presented. Everything is very clearly explained and very well written, and makes learning Java manageable instead of intimidating. I don't know if there are better books out there, but this one should definately help you get the ball rolling and give you a strong foundation to go further.
Rating:
Summary: Well-written for the newbie and a good reference for the pro
Review: I like Savitch's book. It's one of the few I've seen that doesn't assume you already know C or C++. A lot of the intro to CS stuff is review for me, but Savitch writes well so it's not boring. And I really give Savitch credit for writing that doesn't "talk down" to the reader (like an adult trying to explain something to a child). His examples include X-Files and Star Trek references, welcome changes from what I was used to in other books. (There are two email lists and a web site for the book, but I have not seen any traffic on either list.) Savitch's book is also well-designed for use as a reference for those who know Java already.
Rating: 
Summary: Liked it - But did not adopt it because of 'SavitchIn'
Review: I really liked the book. Savitch explains how to program in plain english - and he is easy to read. The only fault in the book (and the reason I did not adopt it in my Java courses is that he used 'SavitchIn'( a nice class he made for user input ) instead of what the student needs to learn.
Again - this is a REALLY GOOD JAVA BOOK. But he really needs to lose the 'SavitchIn' class. (Well, at least use it as an ALTERNATE way to get user input.) What a shame. And I really like his chapters on Swing.
Rating:
Summary: Great starting point for Java programming
Review: I think this is a great book. Unlike other beginners' books, this one really conveys solidly the notions and style of working with Java. There are a few editorial errors and a few slightly vague issues with the book, but these are very minor. Overall, you cannot go wrong with this book as your first step into Java.
Rating:
Summary: Introductory Java Programming at its best
Review: I was impressed by the quality of this book. In fact I've done most of my Java learning from this book thus far, because the book is written very clearly and well. Walter Savitch repeats a lot of things, but I found this to be a helpful aspect of the book rather than a negative aspect. If you are already a Java programmer you won't want this book. This book is for introductory Java programmers only. Anyone interested in learning basic programming skills would do well to read this book. By absorbing the material in this book you will master the basic concepts of Java programming. You will also learn some fun things, such as basic Thread and I/O programming techniques with Java. The end of the book discusses more 'advanced' topics, such as drawing in Java, graphic user interfaces (GUI), and applets. I find the chapter on applets to be a bit lacking to be quite honest - but it is written well despite its brevity. If you are looking for a book on Applet programming I recommend specifically "Sam's Teach Yourself Java 2 in 24 hours" which is a great reading book (yes, its programming) - the author has a great sense of humor and discusses applets in 4 hours +. sage
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