Java Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design

Rating:
Summary: This book is horrible
Review: If you wish to learn Java, this is not the way. This textbook presents the material in a convoluted manner, taking the reader from subject to subject with the all the grace of a prisoner being forced between barracks. Examples are vague and difficult to understand, which works wondrously against the book's objective of teaching Java. I highly recommend this book to masochists and insomniacs, those who either enjoy pain or have trouble getting to sleep at night.

A more-than-adequate substitute to Malik is the Head-First Java textbook by Bert Bates and Kathy Sierra. This introductory book is easy to read without sacrificing material, and will have you coding in no time. Not only is Head-First infinitely superior to the Malik text, it is nearly fifty dollars cheaper. The choice is clear.