Java Programming for the Absolute Beginner (For the Absolute Beginner (Series).)

Head First Java, 2nd Edition

Java: A Beginner's Guide, Third Edition (Beginner's Guide)

Learn Java In a Weekend (In a Weekend (Indianapolis, Ind.).)

Beginners Guide

Learn to Program with Java

Format: Paperback
Author: John Smiley
ReleaseDate: 02 November, 2001
Publisher: Osborne/McGraw-Hill
Rating:

Great book for a beginning programmer
It guides you through the basics and does not bore you or assume that you know C or C++ like most other Java books. This book is the best for a beginning programmer with no experience. I have wanted to pick up some programming for a while and John Smiley's book was the only one I have been able to read from cover to cover and get something out of. I got the electronic version at his website. .

Excellent Book, Easy to Understand
The professor was really bad (barely spoke English) and needless to say, I hardly got anything out of the class. I took an intro to programming course with Java at my university a few years ago. I was feeling a little anxious about future programming classes so I picked up this book at the recommendation of a friend. I was truly impressed with it. I really liked the classlike setting in the book which made you feel like you were actually participating in a course, not just reading another programming book. The explanations are worded in everyday terms so you don't have to be a software engineer to figure out what is going on. In fact, Smiley actually goes way more in depth than most first semester Java courses, yet presents the information so well that you don't even notice how much you are learning. This is probably the best book I have seen to teach yourself Java and would recommend it to anyone.

For someone with no programming experience
Otherwise, pass this by for another Java intro. If you have no programming experience and want to learn the mindset of writing computer programs using java, then buy this book.