Rating: 
Summary: Look elsewhere
Review: Won't repeat all the valid criticisms below. Why would any self-respecting instructor force student to labor over this concoction? Job security?
Rating: 
Summary: A Book for Novice and Professional Alike
Review: This book is truly a triumph. The Deitel's have attained that fine balance between a book suitable for novice and professional.The Deitel's work on this book is excellent. They manage to take the learner from introductory to intermediate level with their examples, a task which is often missing in texts. Even if you have seen the previous editions, this one is a "must have" for those seeking professional skills in Java. The CD version which has just come out really helps you understand the code. You can go over the programs multiple times when necessary. This is the best edition so far!
Rating:
Summary: thumbs up to this excellent Java 2 book
Review: the many programming examples are THE way to learn Java 2; one of the few books on the market that currently are true Java 2 texts (not just Java 2 titles on Java 1 texts); well-written explanations; very few typos or mistakes several colleagues have also favorably commented on the nifty cover design
Rating: 
Summary: Java Made Inaccessible
Review: This book has some strengths, but it takes a inordinate amount of time to find them. There is no glossary, and the student has no idea which applet or abstract windowing toolkit to import or why. I find little connection between the exercises and the text examples. What we need is a concise introduction, one that gets to the point. This is not that book.
Rating:
Summary: Book doesn't rock - it is a rock
Review: I have to disagree with the previous reviewer. Java is easy - this book makes it difficult. Java is the most well-designed computer language there is. This book's sophomoric approach to Java makes learning Java difficult. All the one-star reviews are there for several reasons: The author's don't fully comprehend Java or OO. Their writing style is horrid. The excessive number of tips, cautions, icons, and etc. clutter an already laborious, boring, and confusing format. You can't write a book for C, adapt it to C++ and then to Java and expect readers to comprehend a new programming paradigm. In short, this book suffers from procedural brain damage and they want their readers to have it too.
Rating:
Summary: Ummm.... this book teaches Java???
Review: Had to get this book for my Java programming class too. Thought this book might be good, but hang on... price of a book doesn't say everything. If you like pondering for half hour why a particular line did something, then go ahead and use this book, its poorly organized otherwise. In my opinion, I just didn't like this book all too much, and would rather care less about their examples, even though they are simple examples. What they don't explain is how to think like a programmer, just what certain commands in Java does. People with programming experience in other languages (esp. C, C++), you'll have no problem using this book, but otherwise don't bother, you can do better... unless of course your instructor told you that this book is required for the course too.
Rating:
Summary: This book Rocks!
Review: Java is not an easy subject to pick up. Which is why I think there are so many 1 star reviews. After reading several Java introductory books, this third edition and the second addition are the only books with enough examples to really get you going with Java. Now with this third edition, you can truly learn the power of swing in every example. If you want to really learn Java, Swing, and have lots of examples to learn from, then buy this book!.
Rating:
Summary: BUY ANOTHER BOOK OR TWO
Review: Ok, so we HAD to buy this book for our class. Our teacher had recommended this book because the authors of the book (father and son) are prominent men in their field. Fine, if you can read through the first chapter without falling asleep--the book is a SNORE! This book was NOT designed for the beginner or a newcomer to Java. The writing style is long-winded, indirect, and circulatory. It seems like they tried to write it one way and since it didn't make sense, tried it another way, and another way. It was very confusing. If you are one of those learners who like to have a well-designed book, aesthetically speaking, this book is not it. Open it to any given page and it's full of bold-faced or italicized fonts, and millions of those hints, tips, cautions, etc. notations pop out at you. (Somewhat reminiscent of those annoying flashing icons in a badly designed web page, or banner ads)... After a little while, the "important" stuff blends in with the more common or mundane information. I bought three other java books in order to understand this one. If you HAVE to buy this book for a class, I'd recommend getting supplements. Don't get me wrong, the book is packed with information. These authors are knowledgeable and authorative. But I'm a beginner; I've had only a little programming experience, none of which is object-oriented. This book is supposed to be a "How To Program" book. But if I had to buy other books in order to understand this one, well, you get the point.
Rating:
Summary: Still the most expensive and least imformative Java book
Review: Slightly improved version of the 2nd edition, but they still have a long way to go - especially when you consider the price of the paperback book.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book gets you up to speed fast
Review: If you are looking for a book that gets you up and running with Java really fast, this is it. While the book could be tighter in many places, remember that publishing for a fast moving technology is a tradeoff. You either come up with a very good book that is awfully late or a mediocre book that is a rush job. I would give the authors 75 points out of a possible 100. I like the book because it teaches through examples. Most of the book is filled with examples and their annotations. In some ways this bottom-up approach is more preferable to initial learning than the top-down approach of theory first and then examples. This is a good book for beginners and intermediate level programmers. I do hope that the book was less expensive.
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