Rating: 
Summary: Pretty Good
Review: I didn't stick to it long, but the book was helpful when I was eager to learn.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book with Minor Annoyances
Review: I got the book to supplement Beginning Java 2 from Wrox Press. I figured I would read them in tandem and get a more even view of the language from two perspectives. I have been impressed with this book and it's pace. It covers a lot of information in a seemingly effortless manner that really does get you excited to work with Java.But I have two complaints that may or may not matter to you: 1. They focus entirely on developing on a Windows platform. There is barely a mention of Linux, and as Linux user looking for good Java on Linux documentation I was disappointed. 2. They use their own library of code in their examples. I prefer when learning a language to know what is available in the base language, and then look for libraries that make my job easier. You may not mind this, but show me how to do something on my own, and then point me to libraries that do the same thing, not just package the 'hard stuff' in easy to use premade libraries. I don't learn as well. But again, YMMV. Overall though, well worth the purchase. Cheers.
Rating: 
Summary: Most detailed Java book there is
Review: I have read several Java books, and looked into many others. This is the mose detailed and in-depth books on Java that I have read. It's perfect for anyone who has a good grasp on Java fundamentals and wants to take their programming to the next level. It is also great for a reference book since it is chuck full of facts and examples. If your a beginner, this book maybe a little difficult to learn off of. For beginners, I would recommend Just Java by Van der Linden.
Rating:
Summary: Best general Java reference
Review: I literally have dozens of Java reference books. ... Every so often though I need some place to find something simple. The answer to a dumb question. "Core Java 2: V 1" and the second volume are the two books I constantly reach for whenever the question I have is general. It has lots of good code snippets to show you what you need. Before you can look up a word in a dictionary you need to know how to spell. If there was a book to show you what characters to use to find a word in a dictionary it would be like Core Java in helping you to understand what you need to look up in the more specific Java books. This is a great reference book. I go from this book to "Professional Java Server Programming J2EE Edition" to the O'Reilly books digging as deep as I want to get. Core Java is where I start when I don't even know where to start.
Rating:
Summary: Good or bad, depending on what you're looking for
Review: I read the Online Java Tutorials at javasoft and a mediocre little book called Learn Java 1.1 in 21 Days. I felt I had a good handle on the basics, although I was a bit uncertain about Swing, multithreading, and network programming, so I bought this book. For the beginner who is willing to work and trudge, this might make a good resource; it covers the concept of object oriented programming in depth and explains very well what Java can do and is good for, and It covers Swing well and goes over I/O streams. However, it doesn't go into the richer and cooler aspects of Java, like multithreading and network programming, and sometimes they insist on using these custom made classes from them, which is tiresome. However, the things it actually does cover, it covers well. For a beginner who has no programming experience whatsoever, this is probably not a good book on its lonesome, for it does not go over the programming basics very much. However, for someone who has done a little bit of C or even Pascal, it might work well. So essentially, if you're looking to learn about Swing, I/O, or the ideas and techniques behind OOP in Java, this book works well. If you want something more or less advanced that perhaps covers more ground, look elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: It's okay, if that's all you can find
Review: If there's one thing that drives me nuts about computer programming books, it's when the authors try to hide complexity by offering some special utility or library to make programming "easy". For a newbie it means you only know Java in the context of their tool, but believe me, the first job you get won't be using that tool. The other problem with this book is that the authors go off on tangents in nearly every chapter, sometimes spending a mere paragraph on the fundamentals while trying to show you something "cool". Cool is for later, once you know what you're doing. I'd recommend Beginning Java 2 by Ivor Horton over this book. Follow that up with Professional Java Programming by Brett Spell and you'll be well on your way.
Rating:
Summary: Not for a novice programmer!
Review: If you are not an experienced programmer, don't buy this book. This book, when accompanied with vol 2, cover everything you need to begin a career with Java 2. But it covers it with such a style that is only digestable by a programmer who has been there with other languages. If you are a beginner stammering with the terminology, and especially if you are not a native speaker, you will probably spend lots and lots of hours just reading the text, let alone actually learning something. If you are an absolute beginner, try Instant Java. If you have programmed a little with some languages, but don't consider yourself to be an expert yet, buy the Sybex guide titled Complete Java 2 Certification Study Guide and go throught the Part 1 (about programmer's exam) to learn the Java 2 syntax and use of basic packages. I learned Java 2 with the combination of Core Java 2 vols 1-2 and The Complete Java 2 Certification Study Guide and I don't think there's any better combo. The Study Guide covers all the syntax trivia and tests you repeatedly. The Core books cover everything you need to know to begin a career when you know the syntax.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a book to learn to code Java
Review: If you have any in depth programming experience whatsoever, this book is worthless. It ruminates over all of Java's abilities and could be a good reference. If you understand programming constructs and algorithms, this is not the book to get up and running quickly. It is way too fundamental. I was looking for something to get me going quickly as I have much coding experience. I spent a lot of time reading through this book only to come away feeling like I had just taken programming 101 over again.
Rating:
Summary: Almost perfect
Review: If you have some experience programming and want to become very familiar with the workings of Java, this book is almost amasterpiece- it teaches you using the jdk (which means you get a very low level look at the language), and has excellent explanation not only of the fundamental classes and programming techiques of java, but also contrasts them with c++ and vb, for already experienced programmers who are familiar with programming ideas. The authors use good examples and make exciting what is often treated as a dry subject. My only regrets are that the authors did not spend more time teaching us about network programming or jdbc or servlets, yet wasted time on applets. This in light of java's predominate usage at this point in these latter scenarios.
Rating:
Summary: realistic approach for professional developing applications
Review: One thing I like about this book is the authors are not absolutely in love with Java. They don't preach how Java will save the wold the way many Java authors do. Instead, they take a much more realistic approach pointing out the strengths and weakness of Java. They also do a very thurough job of teaching every aspect of the language, library, and run time environment. I also appreciate that the book does not focus on writing silly applets or toys to put on your web page. The authors assume you are software professional trying to develop an actual real world application using the Java language/platform. Volume one covers everything you need to know to write a complete Java application. Volume 2 picks up where volume 1 left off. This mostly includes advanced areas of the Java run time library that you probably won't need for your first few simple applications. Topics include Zip files and other advanced file manipulation, multithreading, networking, database connectivity, remote objects, advanced AWT, Java Beans, security, and native methods.
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