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Java

Head First Java, 2nd Edition

Format: Paperback
Author: Kathy Sierra
ReleaseDate: 09 February, 2005
Publisher: O'Reilly Media
Rating:

Made for geeks, entertains all
For learning Java it is an excellent reference as well as being humorous and capturing your attention to the point at which you can't put it down. This book is simply the best programming book I have ever used.

Unlike other books that drone on about one thing or another, but leave you sitting there dreaming of a nice comfortable bed (since you would be sleeping), Head First Java keeps you on the edge of your seat and laughing throughout every chapter.

It also includes mini practice activities in every chapter that will let you try out what you just learned. This hands-on approach is, in my opinion, the best way to learn the ins and outs of any programming language.

I highly reccommend this book for those learning Java programming as the last book you will need in your quest.

Awful Book for the Experienced
I picked up this book thinking that it would give me a general introduction which I could then fill in as needed by reading parts of a reference book (Java in a Nutshell). I'm an experienced programmer that had to learn Java in a hurry. After 40 pages, I realized that this was a BIG mistake. This book is way-too-beginner oriented. I found its presentation style petty and irritating. Fortunately a colleague told me about Bruce Eckel's Thinking in Java. This is a much better book that treats its reader like an adult! .

great & unique book so far
The beginnings of the book give you some great tips to use when reading the book in order to help the information sink in (which are great tips for reading ANY info book), and the book does its part by providing examples, puzzles, and descriptions of each topic covered. I just got this book today, and after finishing the intro and chapter 1, I've gotta say that it's a great book with a unique (and working) teaching method. A common method the book uses pertaining to this is to provide you with a block of code with an error related to the current chapter in it, in which you have to find and correct said error.

This book is meant for people (like me) with no Java experience, but some experience in one or more server-side web (PHP, Javascript, etc. ) or local programming (C++, Python, etc. ) languages (HTML not included). The book revolves not only around providing information in a way that's easy to remember, but keeping that information in your brain and not letting it out even when it cries and pleas for escape. The authors use a friendly, comical, conversational method of explaining things, which is one of the methods they list to help you remember things. A quote from the book says ". . . there's no simple way to tell your brain, 'Hey brain, thank you very much, but no matter how dull this book is, and how little I'm registering on the emotional richter scale right now, I really do want you to keep this stuff [Java information] around. '"

After reading the equivalent of only two chapters of this book, I give it a solid five-star rating without a second thought.