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Rating: 
Summary: Good refresher of C++
Review: Are you the type of programmer who also likes logic puzzles, or chess problems and crosswords in newspapers? Did you ace the logic part of an SAT or GRE exam? Then this book is for you!You are learning C++. Or perhaps you need a refresher. You may not be facile with all the nuances. Learn by doing. The book has 111 programs that don't quite work. All you need is enough discipline to work through the programs without peeking at the answers until you have give it your best try. The book assumes that you are already mostly familiar with the syntax of C++. While some programs explore the subtleties of this, the author expects that you can at least code a simple C++ task. The programs are not antipatterns, though. I could not discern any higher level structure across the programs to suggest this. Perhaps the best way to regard this book is as a cheap refresher exam. Mental stretching exercises.
Rating: 
Summary: Just Plain Fun!!!
Review: Okay, maybe I should say, just plain fun in a geeky kind of way. This book is relatively inexpensive, thus making it well worth the price. If you programm in C++ (or even in C, C#, or Java), then you will most likely enjoy this book. Unlike most computer books, this is not a book you read in order to learn how to to something. Rather, this is a book you read (1) to see if you already know how to do something, (2) if you like solving puzzles, (3) if you want to learn about a number of typical 'gotchas'. This book presents listings (about 111+). Each seems to have something specifically wrong with it. You try to figure out the issue with a hint. You are can then get additional hints using a jump table. You are also given the answer as to what the gotcha is. The book also contains a large number of trivia type information. This is folklore, funny stories, and more. This is a book that I find myself picking up over and over to read just a little farther. It is fun. It is interesting. I'm even learning a thing or two. I've enjoyed it so much, I'll be writing a review on it for CodeGuru.com! Congratulations to Steve Oualline on putting together one of the few fun-to-read computers books.
Rating: 
Summary: Only for extreme novice C++ programmers
Review: The concept of this book is good, but the execution is seriously lacking. The "bugs" in Mr.Oualline's programs are the kinds of errors only the most unskilled novices would make: a missing space character in a format statement; accessing a 5-element array with index values of 1 thru 5; a class whose constructor allocates storage but whose destructor doesn't release the memory. Trivial, easy-to-spot errors that don't really expand anyone's grasp of C++. To add insult to injury, large portions of the book are filled with Mr.Oualline's tiresome war stories and aphorisms. A much better source of knowledge is "C++ Gotchas", any of Scott Meyers' books, or the "C++ FAQ".
Rating: 
Summary: unpolished
Review: This book illustrates several common errors that every C++ programmers will encounter. There is no substitute for learning from your own mistakes, but forewarned is forearmed. If you read this book before you make the mistakes, you will save yourself some time. The humor scattered through the book helps keep the subject light. Unfortunately, the book is flawed beyond those bugs which were introduced intentionally. In one case a program was unintentionally corrected, leaving no errors to be found. Some of the programs seem unnecessarily long for the bug they are illustrating. Like most computer programs, this book would have benefitted from peer review prior to its release.
Rating:
Summary: unpolished
Review: This book illustrates several common errors that every C++ programmers will encounter. There is no substitute for learning from your own mistakes, but forewarned is forearmed. If you read this book before you make the mistakes, you will save yourself some time. The humor scattered through the book helps keep the subject light. Unfortunately, the book is flawed beyond those bugs which were introduced intentionally. In one case a program was unintentionally corrected, leaving no errors to be found. Some of the programs seem unnecessarily long for the bug they are illustrating. Like most computer programs, this book would have benefitted from peer review prior to its release.
Rating:
Summary: Fun C++ games
Review: This is fives stars, but only for the right reader. If you like the C/C++ lint checker puzzles in the C/C++ User's Journal you will love this book. It's all seeing the little mistakes in other people's code, like a detective. Now, if you learn by other peoples mistakes you should buy this book immediately. If you are like the rest of us then your purchase should depend on whether you like programming detective work and puzzles. If you like that, then this is a great book.
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