Rating: 
Summary: Worst Book Ever, expected more out of a Murach book
Review: Usually Murach books are quite good and give you alot of information, but they made a mistake with this author.She has bad examples to a beginner (i.e. constructer with a name of Book book=new Book and Objectobject refers to an object, the only reason I knew these were wrong was I bought "Learn to Program with Java" by John Smiley). If she can't explain the basics from the start, then why spend the money on something that is going to confuse you, these technical books cost too much. Also, there are quite a bit of misspellings, yet another author trying to put a book out quickly without proofreading it. I have COBOL in my background and I know this is quite a switch to OOP thinking, but that is why I wanted this book, I was the perfect audience, well if this was a show, I'd have walked out within the first 5 minutes !! I highly suggest you check the book out for yourself, but I tried to return mine, but did not get 100% refund, but did find out if you buy it from the Murach website they offer 100% return policy (so at least you get can you money back for this piece of garbage). I sure hope Murach gets somebody else to re-write the book using simple, clear and concise answers.
Rating: 
Summary: Compassion for the uninitiated...
Review: What a wonderful book. This is not to say that you should take it upon yourself to buy this if you have never been exposed to Java. On the contrary. You need to possess rudimentary knowledge of Java Fundamentals (i.e., unfortunately, some assumptions are made by the author as to your level of knowledge).
However, overall, this is a watershed moment for those who, perhaps, did not major in Computer Science and need to learn core Java for duties other than programming.
...and a word to the wise: you WILL have to work through the exercises (and that is a good thing too). Ms. Steelman immediately begins to introduce you to the concepts that later expand into J2EE. The absolute best teaching text for Java among the gazillions of self-hyped tutorials and skills books on the market today.
Rating:
Summary: Best beginning Java book so far
Review: When I found out that I had to learn Java, I bought three Java books (Core Java, the Beginning Java 2 from Wrox, and Murach's Beginning Java 2). Since I have some programming experience with VB, I though I'd be able to learn Java pretty easily. While I learned different aspects of Java from each of these books, I found the Murach book to be the most helpful. In fact, before reading the Murach book, I could barely understand the other books. After reading the Murach book, the other books made more sense. I also liked the examples in the Murach book better, and I liked the way the book steps you through each example at the end of each chapter.
Rating:
Summary: Enhanced with syntax, examples, and guidelines
Review: With its clear, direct, well organized text, Murach's Beginning Java 2 is the ideal "how to" introduction to Java 2 for the novice user. Covering versions 1.3 and 1.4, Murach's Beginning Java 2 covers all of the basics and by the end of chapter 6 beginners will be able to design, code, and test 00 business programs on their own. From that point forward, all the Java skills are taught and will turn even the most neophyte user into a skilled and practiced professional handling applications, applets, I/O files, JDBC, threads, and coding for everyday functions. The text is enhanced with syntax, examples, and guidelines, making it an immensely useful and very highly recommended reference for Java users.
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