Rating: 
Summary: A Must Have C++ Book
Review: "Core C++" is an invaluable book for software developers at all levels. It teaches coding principles and methodology that will allow you to write robust, scalable and maintainable applications. "Core C++" will give you a shortcut to a knowledge base, which can be gathered only by many years of programming experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Good for beginners
Review: A good book, in that it covers a lot of ground, but equally a very verbose one. The author would take an entire paragraph to convey a point, and then (just to make certain that the point was fully conveyed), would use another (or several more paragraphs) to paraphrase the same point.As a seasoned programmer in C++, I read this book believing I would gain finer points of the language and exquisite uses of it (e.g. idioms). An "Engineering Approach" lead me to believe that the author would get down and dirty into the nitty gritty of the compiler domain and code optimization. No such luck! This book is definitely for beginners who might find inculcation of concept, useful. My feeling is that this book could have easily been half the size it is, if much of its verbosity was cut out, which means a lot less time would be needed to cover the core of C++. It may have some benefits for intermediate users (if they don't mind doing a lot of reading), but virtually nothing for experienced and advanced programmers of C++.
Rating:
Summary: Best book I've read for gaining a thorough understanding
Review: Although my background is limited, I am able to understand every concept the author introduces. He gives a very good, thorough explanation and then shows the reader how the concept is applied through examples. I have read a number of other books on the subject and although they are faster to read initially, they lacked the depth of this book which makes complex concepts like memory management much more difficult, if not impossible, to understand. I don't believe it is possible to truly know what you are supposed to do if you don't know why you are doing it and this author goes to great lengths to make certain you do. In addition, he continuously goes into maintainance of the program and you cannot walk away from this book without realizing how the design of a program ultimately effects its maintainance. If you are looking to understand C++ programming, you are not going to do it in 24 hours or 21 days. It requires the time and thought that working through the depth of this book require.
Rating:
Summary: Best book I've read for gaining a thorough understanding
Review: Although my background is limited, I am able to understand every concept the author introduces. He gives a very good, thorough explanation and then shows the reader how the concept is applied through examples. I have read a number of other books on the subject and although they are faster to read initially, they lacked the depth of this book which makes complex concepts like memory management much more difficult, if not impossible, to understand. I don't believe it is possible to truly know what you are supposed to do if you don't know why you are doing it and this author goes to great lengths to make certain you do. In addition, he continuously goes into maintainance of the program and you cannot walk away from this book without realizing how the design of a program ultimately effects its maintainance. If you are looking to understand C++ programming, you are not going to do it in 24 hours or 21 days. It requires the time and thought that working through the depth of this book require.
Rating: 
Summary: The Software Engineering Approach
Review: As you noticed, a lot of the reviewers for this book are people who already know C++. I found this to be a great software engineering book, giving a lot of good tips for being a good software engineer. However, if you are looking to learn C++, find another book. This book will be frustrating because it will be hard to find the C++ concepts lost among the tips on how to be a good software engineer. Also, it would not be a very good reference book either because the guy is constantly referencing jokes he made earlier in the book as explanations for why things are done as they are.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome painstaking effort by Victor Shtern!
Review: For me, ranks for the sheer generosity and intent of the author as the number 1 educational book I've ever read. What an insight and patience in explaining the concepts. For the first time, really programming, design concepts come through absolutely clearly. However, I might recommend this not for beginners, but for those trying to get a hold of the book that puts every thing they read before in perspective and with a powerful flow.
Rating:
Summary: It's like Herb Schildt, but for the masses
Review: Herb Schildt's book; C++: The Complete Reference stayed with me throughout my second semester in C.S.. But this book is different, where Schildt's book is limited too, this book picks up. This is by far the best C++ tutorial I've read, and his approach is unorthodox. He first explains the software crisis, why Software Engineering is essentially a field that's a total mess. He just doesn't throw code at you, he spends time gearing your mind to be a software engineer. He really dives into OOP, and he emphasizes the need for better architecting. All of which are valid. The book is unconventional; most C++ tutorial books give you code, and that's the end of it. This book teaches you fundamental Software Engineering principles while you learn the code. Again, not many C++ books have that. Would I recommend this? Yes. It can serve as a self-study guide as well as a textbook. Versatile in purpose, writing style is clear. Anyone who is new to C++, I would definitely recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: It's like Herb Schildt, but for the masses
Review: Herb Schildt's book; C++: The Complete Reference stayed with me throughout my second semester in C.S.. But this book is different, where Schildt's book is limited too, this book picks up. This is by far the best C++ tutorial I've read, and his approach is unorthodox. He first explains the software crisis, why Software Engineering is essentially a field that's a total mess. He just doesn't throw code at you, he spends time gearing your mind to be a software engineer. He really dives into OOP, and he emphasizes the need for better architecting. All of which are valid. The book is unconventional; most C++ tutorial books give you code, and that's the end of it. This book teaches you fundamental Software Engineering principles while you learn the code. Again, not many C++ books have that. Would I recommend this? Yes. It can serve as a self-study guide as well as a textbook. Versatile in purpose, writing style is clear. Anyone who is new to C++, I would definitely recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: This book is written is for those who are willing to learn
Review: I am the author of this book, and I would like to answer the review below. The reviewer "doer" complains that the book promises "Engineering Approach" but does not describe "compiler domain and code optimization." But the book never promised "compiler domain and code optimization." It promised what EVERY programmer and technical manager needs - software engineering. It teaches how to use C++ to build maintainable programs, avoiding unnecessary complexity. Few other C++ books aim at this. The reviewer charges that the book could be "half the size it is." Yes, it could. But then, Core C++ would be like hundreds of other books that quickly enumerate C++ features but do not teach coding skills. Many years of teaching and training experience taught me how to teach. I use SIMPLE language and numerous examples to explain COMPLEX things. And if it takes 1200 pages to explain things well, let it be 1200 pages and not 600. The reviewer complains that he did not find "finer points of the language and exquisite uses of it (e.g. idioms)" in the book. He read the book too quickly - finer points and idioms are there. In addition, the book explains techniques that are not covered in other books, such as pushing tasks from client classes to server classes, moving tasks among classes to minimize coordination, and other UNIQUE methods. They are EYE OPENERS for most programmers and managers. The reviewer concedes that it is "a good book" and that "it covers a lot of ground," but it gives it only two stars. This misleads those for whom the book is written - those who have patience and interest to learn this complex language and to master software engineering methods of using it.
Rating:
Summary: This is a great book!
Review: I found this book extremely useful! I purchased it shortly after graduating from college, where I received a BS in CS. I was interviewing for Software Engineering positions and wanted to make sure I understood, in depth, exactly how C++ works. As anyone who has a degree in CS knows, most of the classes you take are more theoretical then practical. This is great because you get to the real `guts' of computing, and it also makes it alot easier to learn the more practical, hands on skills (such as programming). However, you do have to take the time, on your own, to learn these skills. That's what this book helped me to do. I was able to learn the practical aspects of C++ programming, which helped me with interview questions, which, in turn, landed me a job. I still have this book at my desk and reference it when I get stuck on something I'm programming, so it's been a great investment all around. As far as the other reviews, I'm not sure how `easy' this book would be to understand for a beginner, because I had been programming in C++ for about 5 years when I bought it, but I do know that it covers most, if not all, of the major concepts in C++ programming, and then some. It might be slower reading for a beginner, but I don't think it would be too hard to grasp.
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