Rating: 
Summary: Taught myself Java with this- great book!
Review: This is a really great Java textbook. I used it to teach myself Java over the summer. It's really clear and explains everything pretty well, and I found the examples to be really helpful. Now I'm taking Java for credit at college, and it's a total breeze after going through this book over the summer.
In order to get the most out of the book, though, you have to do a lot of programming to practice the stuff you learn. I used Netbeans 3.6 (www.Netbeans.org or check out download.com) to do all my programming in. It sets up the font of all the different java programming commands the exact same way that this textbook does, which makes everything real nice.
The book is also designed in such a way that you can learn all the regular programming commands without learning graphics, if you want. It also has a good HTML tutorial at the end (which is missing from the 4th edition, sadly).
As for the CD included with the book, I didn't look at it, but Netbeans (the IDE I used) has everything that would've been on the CD. So you could buy the book used with no CD and still be fine.
Rating: 
Summary: Solid introduction to Object-Oriented programming in Java
Review: This is a very good book, to the right audience. It is first and foremost an introduction to programming, second an introduction to programming in an object-oriented language, and third, an introduction to Java.So, the keys to liking this book are: 1. You have not programmed before, or only a little 2. You want to learn to program in an object-oriented language 3. You want solid skills, not to add Java to your resume If your main goal is to learn Java, or to learn enough Java to apply for a Java programming job, there are better books. In this book Java is a means to an end, that of learning to write software. You'll learn a fair amount of Java -- nothing to sneeze at, definitely -- but it's only the first step of many towards mastery of the Java platform (which is *huge*, no one book will tell you all you need to know). If, on the other hand, you don't know how to program, and think you might like to learn, this is a pretty good book, and you'll learn enough Java to be ready for the next level.
Rating:
Summary: excellent java source
Review: This was the book I used for my first Java class, but whether or not one needs it for school, this comes highly recommended. It covers all the novice essentials, from keyboard input to separate classes to basic GUI designs. While the authors may write rather cryptically sometimes, they do offer A LOT of examples of working code. These examples alone make the book very valuable. I found that by following their programs, I quickly found out how to learn the ideas they were trying to convey. I made the mistake of selling this book back when I was done with it. I wish I had kept a hold of it. This is a wonderful resource for those still working out the beginning difficulties that come with knowing Java.
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