Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Intro to Java
Review: On to Java is an excellent introduction to the language. After reading through On to C++, I became a big fan of Patrick Henry Winston. Like On to C++, On to Java is extremely well written and allows one to quickly convert knowledge of C++ into knowledge of Java, although knowledge of C++ is not required to use this book.The breakdown of the book into small tutorial bites is one of its strengths, but as a result makes On to Java not very comprehensive. None the less, the book covers all of the basics of the language quite well. The use of essentially the same example throughout the book strengthens it as a tutorial, but weakens it somewhat as a reference text.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent introduction to JAVA
Review: P. Winston continues his superb "On to..." series with a book on JAVA. It's a straightforward introduction to the language and to the basics of OO programming. It is very well-suited both for beginners and people moving on from C/C++. The only (slight) disadvantage is a problem with the typesetting in a couple of chapters. The current edition covers the JDK 1.0, hopefully an upgrade to 1.1 will be published soon. It is recommended!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: On to confusion!
Review: The concept of this book was to build, chapter by chapter a functioning program and allow you to see how it eventually all comes together. Seems logical right...wrong. The concepts are poorly presented and difficult to grasp without a semi-good grasp of programming in general. Rather than small isolated programming examples, as this book builds upon previous examples you forget what previous code(that you studied say two months ago) does and you continually find yourself having to go back and reread the section that covered it. If you can find this book printed in a language you cannot speak or write in buy that version instead as it will make more sense.
Rating:
Summary: Great intro to Java
Review: The writing style of this book is wonderful. Like lecture notes from a really good teacher. This book would serve as an excellent text in an introductory programming course. I wish more high school level instruction would switch over to Java instead of C, C++, or (god help me) Pascal. It does get confusing if you skip around, or skim through parts, and I wouldn't reccomend it for somone who plans on studying java slowly over a very log time frame, as it relies on what you've learned in previous chapters heavily. I also wouldn't reccommend it for someone coming from a strong background in C++, because the skimming over the basics (as you are likely to do because it is so similar) will get you quite confused once you hit more difficult material. I would highly reccomend getting a good java reference to go with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Makes sure you understand from the ground up
Review: There are more or less some differences among all the programming languages. One might think that being a veteran in one language automatically makes one the master of other languages immediately. Often, it's the minor syntax that are the easiest to get wrong and spent the most time debugging. This book will make sure you really know the nuts and bolts of Java; it doesn't assume some part is not important.
Rating:
Summary: Java, just Java
Review: This is probably the best introductory text on Java that I have read. First, what this book is not: It is not about beans, servlets, applets, J2EE, etc. This is a book about the Java language, much the way the orginal K&R was about the C programming language, pure and simple. On To Java does not attempt to go to the same lengths to instill an OOP mindset as does Bruce Eckel's excellent Thinking In Java, but it teaches just enough OOP along the way. I REALLY liked this book because each concept is covered in a very succinct manner in a chapter just a few pages long. No long-winded discussions here: each paargraph has been distilled down to the fewest sentences necessary to get th epoint across. The author has also taken the unique approach of numbering each paragraph so that locating referencs to earlier material is easy. When it comes to learning a new programming language, I'm a hands on kind of person. On To Java uses a simple movie rating application, and builds it chapter-by-chapter. The book provided me with just enough hands-on to be useful, and the example code was short and to the point (a complaint I have about Eckel's book, by the way). I heartily recommend this book to anyone who has already been introduced to the concepts of programming and has some previous programming experience.
Rating:
Summary: Java, just Java
Review: This is probably the best introductory text on Java that I have read. First, what this book is not: It is not about beans, servlets, applets, J2EE, etc. This is a book about the Java language, much the way the orginal K&R was about the C programming language, pure and simple. On To Java does not attempt to go to the same lengths to instill an OOP mindset as does Bruce Eckel's excellent Thinking In Java, but it teaches just enough OOP along the way. I REALLY liked this book because each concept is covered in a very succinct manner in a chapter just a few pages long. No long-winded discussions here: each paargraph has been distilled down to the fewest sentences necessary to get th epoint across. The author has also taken the unique approach of numbering each paragraph so that locating referencs to earlier material is easy. When it comes to learning a new programming language, I'm a hands on kind of person. On To Java uses a simple movie rating application, and builds it chapter-by-chapter. The book provided me with just enough hands-on to be useful, and the example code was short and to the point (a complaint I have about Eckel's book, by the way). I heartily recommend this book to anyone who has already been introduced to the concepts of programming and has some previous programming experience.
Rating:
Summary: Unique, Concise, Thorough
Review: This is quite simply an amazing book. As a programmer I have encountered many technical books and even more in the way of documentation and I have never found anything quite like this. The author has a unique style that is quite possibly the most forthcoming and concise presenation format one could find on the topic. In honor of this I shall write my review in the same style of the book: 1. My first book was Core Java 2 (Fundamentals). As a VB developer trying to learn Java, this was the most elementary book offered by Sun. While the book promises much depth, lack of organization and clarity impeded my ability to work through it. In the second chapter one is already importing classes and fiddling with CLASSPATH variables. 2. In extreme contrast to this, On To Java focuses on syntax in a step by step format that thoroughly covers even the most basic Java "Hello World" type application. Upon this the author builds concepts such as data types, methods, classes and so on in a very methodical step-by-step format. 3. Although this material is more of a drawn out tutorial that focuses on a single application and develops it throughout, it's concise and deliberate format is something that I've found to be lacking in *all* other Java documentation I've perused, including the excellent material from the O'Reilly people. 4. Therefore this is a book for a person who wants a quick but thorough start on Java, who wants to be advised of even the most straight forward syntax before they begin importing classes and looking at sample applications and who wants to focus on the language rather than a specific vendor's product. 5. The limitation of this book is that it is *not* a reference by any means. After one has been through the material they will not draw on this book for supplementary input. However, the authors intention I'm quite sure is that this material is a primer- a preliminary step whereas the complete references are meant to augment one who is already versed in the basics, structure and syntax of Java. Moreover the JDK includes such documentation.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Introduction to Java
Review: This is the best introduction to Java available. It is clear, concise, and very accurate. It takes the reader on a very carefully crafted odyssey of the Java language in easily digestible bits. It is uses proven pedagogical principles (Winston is an excellent teacher (based only on my readings of his books). In addition, Winston carefully develops sound SW engineer practices without being dogmatic. He also points out alternatives without being critical. He points out Java's advantages without sounding like an adolescent evangelist. Winston carefully and correctly uses the English language to make his points simply and directly. "On to Java" is easy to read and enables a learner new to Java to get a solid foundation painlessly and quickly. Winston's "On to Java" is in a word...Awesome! If you need an introduction to your first computer language or a starting point for a study of computer science you won't find a better Java book. As a bonus it is very affordable. My other favorite introductory level books are: "A Gentle Introduction to Symbolic Computing" by David Touretsky "A Taste of Smalltalk" (I have forgotten the author's name)
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