Rating: 
Summary: Easy to understand.
Review: The book is extremely easy to understand and is excellent for beginners. More experienced programmers may find that the explanations are repetitive or too long. However, as a beginning programming book it is excellent.
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth the price with unusable CodeWarrior
Review: The copy of CodeWarrior Lite that comes with the book can no longer be installed, nor is it suppored by Metrowerks anymore. Instead, they suggest purchasing a copy of the Discover Programming Edition of CodeWarrior for [more money] to replace it. To me, it seems highly deceptive, if not illegal, for the publisher advertise that the book comes with CodeWarrior and to continue to include the price of the software license in the cost of the book. The retail price of the book should be lowered, or buyers should be offered a working copy of CodeWarrior at no charge, or the publisher should be required to notify potential buyers that the software is no longer usable.
Rating: 
Summary: Superb Book with Minor Flaws
Review: The explanations in this book are exceptionally clear and the book is well laid out. The author has done a tremendous amount of work in creating sample programs and very good exercises. The exercises are very close to real life and I have not seen any other textbook that is really close to the quality of exercises in this book. The Preface, the Dependency Chart (xiv), is superb and provides a roadmap that can be followed. The book does have some minor problems. The index is not extensive and basic words such as: get and void are not in the index under their own headings but are sometimes there as subheadings under another heading. For example, void is under the subheading: method. This makes it difficult to search under the word void unless you realize you've got to search under method then void. I checked some other books and they did not have this problem. Some more examples would be helpful. For example, the get() method is very important and, although he discusses it extensively, he does not give an example using it to call from an encapsulated class. It can, however, be figured out. Also, some of the examples are too simplistic and more complex examples would be helpful so that it can be used as a model when solving problems; an example would be: a combination of the for, while, if commands. The book omits some important but minor points that would be helpful to someone learning the program. Savitch creates an encapsulated class (SpeciesFirstTry) that can be not be run except from the SpeciesFirstTryDemo, the calling program. To someone learning these concepts it is not clear. Another minor point is that, as far as I can tell, Savitch does not list the Paths needed to run Java 2. The book has been very carefully edited so I only found one minor flaw, Pg. 207, exercise 7 should state: "Modify problem 9" rather than "Modify problem 7." The sample programs all run and are excellently written. Also, I like the program SavitchIn a utility program that is used throughout the book. The exercise are not easy and some answers to these exercises would be helpful. Even if the full answers are not given, hints would be appreciated. Another useful addition to this book would be a two to four page "synopsis" of the major commands. To reiterate, the key strengths of Savitch's book are: clear explanations, excellent programming exercises that are relevant to business, and consistent and superb craftsmanship in the writing style and layout of the book. The minor and nitpicking items that I mentioned previously are very minor and can easily be overcome. I strongly recommend this book!!
Rating: 
Summary: Flawed
Review: The good just outweighs the bad with this book, but it has some excruciating flaws that really spoil it. Chief among these is the appalling failure to provide solutions to the exercises. This is marketed as a college text, but plenty of school texts include the answers without undermining the integrity of the material being taught. Savitch really has dropped the ball in supporting the non academic section of his readership. I can't think of a single reason to justify the inflated price of this book either. I bought the earlier version of the book that came with the dreadful non working Code Warrior CD which furthered marred my experience trying to learn Java. Overall, the teaching style is okay and this is what elevates it above the plethora of badly written Java books out there. Sad to say that mere adequacy does this in an age of bad writing/teaching.
Rating:
Summary: Good Java learning book
Review: The way he writes this book makes it seem as if he's right there talking to you - using words you understand. The explanations are crystal clear.
Savitch is to Java as Malik is to C++. Both make it easy to learn - and after all, that's what I buy a book for - to learn.
Only drawback is the high price, but I suggest you bite the bullet so you won't have buyer's remorse. Go ahead and get the better book. (Also get the Schaums Outline.)
Rating:
Summary: The way is should be
Review: This book is an example of how such a book should be written. It is nothing short of perfect for what it seeks to be: an introductory book in programming java. It assumes you know very little and leads from there through each topic in a manner that is clear, concise, intelligent, and determined. This book wants you to get the points it is trying to make, not dazzle you with cleverness (simpliity is the hallmark of genuis, not convoluted verbage that most writers in this field seem to wallow in: note to editors...stop the self indulgence of these useless hacks!). Mr Savitch is an excellent writer and obviously an educator of some skill. Personally it reads like he is talking to you personally and explaining each point to you in a pleasant, helpful manner. This books has 'loads' of examples and programs and provides code segment for points so you don't have to keep switching back or if you do, it gives you the exact location of the code so you don't have to hunt for it. No, this is awell conceived and thoroughly well realized book for the beginning Java programmer. Thoroughly recommended and thumbs up! This is the book to buy if you want to start learning Java, well, facts and effectively. mr Savitch must be justifiably proud to have given us such a work. Buy it, read it, learn from it and nod you head at the end and say to yourself...'that was money well spent'...
Rating: 
Summary: Simple but repetative
Review: This book is easy to read and understand, but there is a catch. And here it is, he keeps going on and on. A concept that could have been easily covered within a few pages he turns into a chapter. So here is your choice, if you like simplicty combined with repetition this is the book for you. Otherwise find another book.
Rating:
Summary: Great Java intro for non-programmers
Review: This book is excellent for people who have no background in either computer science or programming. It's well-written (which is rare for technical books) and provides examples that are straight-forward and practical. The test questions after each section truly test your knowledge of key concepts, and the programming exercises are challenging. (I would probably purchase the latest version of this book, and not this older version.)
I like that Savitch introduces new concepts by developing that concept over several versions of the same program. So, you can see how he got from A to Z. He also deconstructs the code for you bit by bit, so that you gain a real understanding of what each Java statement means. The GOTCHA sections provide tips that help with your code-writing, and he has thoughtfully included sections that highlight the specific syntaxes and uses of each concept.
Savitch has put together an amazing book--he's obviously spent a lot of time crafting his presentation. I was initially afraid of trying to learn Java on my own, but this book has given me a solid foundation. I hope he puts together an Intermediate/Advanced Java book!
Rating:
Summary: Great book on Java for beginners
Review: This book is really great introduction to Java and also to programming. I recommend it to everyone beginning with programming in Java and who does not have any previous knowledge of programming. You really won't regret the money you will invest in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Best Book On Java Out There!
Review: This book is simply awesome! After trying to read several other Java books, and a couple of online tutorials, I was just confused. Until I came across this book. WOW! I actually know Java now! That's saying something people! If you need to know Java, and you have no programming experience... get THIS book. It's all you'll need. P.S. I might mention, Savitch also quickly responded to a couple of emails I sent him (his addy's in the book) and answered my questions that same day. Now that's service!
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