The first book I used in college was some C/C++ algorithms book that was useless. After only one introductory course in C++ at a local college, I was able to follow this book very well. I don't consider myself a genius. It's in plain english with lots of examples and sample programs to help you understand how things work. This book seems to run really hot or cold. If you are buying this book, you must be serious about learning to program. If you can't grasp the easy to read format and concepts in this book, please search for a new career, I wouldn't want to work with you at a real job. This book covers all topics, including Standard Template Libraries of C++ 6.0. When my 2nd class was over, I dared not sell this one back. It's got so many hints and tips to speed up your code and hints to avoid logical errors that take hours to debug. I would tell anyone looking to learn C++ to get this one.

I used C++ How to Program, 2ed, in my first 2 years at University and I found its explanations of the concepts and techniques excellent. I have Stroustrup's "bible" on C++, but I find it sometimes very dry and difficult to interpret. Deitel&Deitel has not disapointed me yet. I thoroughly recommend it, it is money well spent.

I just skimmed over the other reviews of this book posted at Amazon. I'd have to generally disagree with the negative reviews, it seems the majority of them comes from beginner programmers. Being a tutor, I can understand that programming is not an easy activity and much of that difficulty can sometimes be traced to the instructor of the course. But I do have to agree with one reviewer's observation that this book makes for a lousy introductory to Object-oriented technology.

Though not perfect, this book is the best instructional book I've seen so far. I learned C++ with this book and still use it as a reference. The Deitel's provide a clear explaination of C++ constructs and share a few software engineering concepts. This book, however, is not a Learn-To-Program-in-X-Days type of book.

Each though not every concept is thoroughly covered; each lesson is reinforced by chapter summaries, examples, and quizzes. The physical layout of this book also makes it easier to read -- I especially like how the font faces and colors differ between C++ code, sidebars, and the narrative.

I like the style of Deitels' writing so much that I also bought their "How to program Java" book. I found that book just as good as this one and was able to learn Java from it. In fact, I'm so confident in their style of writing, I'm about to place an order for their "How to Program for Internet and WWW".

After re-reading the entire Dirk Pitt series (it's been a few years) and reading this book for the first time, I'd say this is adequate by Cussler standards. It's nowhere near as good as most of the pre-Dragon books, but still much better than the awful Flood Tide.

Cussler writes a good adventure story, though his characters still speak unrealistically. Valhalla Rising has an interesting plot with a less menacing villain than we've seen in recent books. As escapist reading goes, it was fairly decent. I've always thought The Mysterious Island is one of Verne's best novels, and I enjoyed seeing it plugged here. And for all Pitt's reluctance to settle down, he seems to be avoiding involvement with anyone but Loren these days. Giordino's engagement in Atlantis Found was a welcome bit of character development that shouldn't have been thrown out in this book.

Then there was the ending. It was awfully nice for Pitt, but totally incredible -- even for a Cussler novel. I scanned my '83 printing of Pacific Vortex again after finishing this and can't figure out when Pitt had the opportunity to lay the groundwork, if you'll pardon the expression. Unless Summer waited a bit before calling Delphi when Pitt showed up on Kanoli and subsequently passed out. And I'm not sure it would have been possible even then.

Apart from the dialogue, these little (and sometimes big) inconsistencies are the most irritating features of the Pitt novels. Dirk Pitt was promoted to lieutenant colonel, but in this book, he's inexplicably demoted back to major. In Valhalla Rising, someone comments on how the Titanic broke in half as she sank. True -- in the real world. Even though Raise the Titanic was written before Ballard found the wreck, are we supposed to pretend that Pitt didn't raise it after all? And in some of the later books, there's a lot of obsessing about whether pre-Columbian contact with the Americas occurred. Have they forgotten that Romans buried items from the Alexandria Library in Texas and that Pitt famously found them in Treasure? And so on. Of course, some of these are welcome, like the return to English measurement after the conversion to metrics in Inca Gold.

But even with these complaints and the annoying author cameos, there's a reason I own this and every other Pitt novel, and why I'm willing to spend time re-reading them. They're good entertainment. True, Valhalla Rising isn't anywhere near Cussler's best, but it's not one of his worst, either.

After nearly 20 years, Dirk Pitt is a familiar character for escapist readers. Cussler's books of his exploits are the literary equivalent of a good popcorn movie. Just another good book to kick back and enjoy - no big themes, no important messages. It's fluff. But fluff with some substance - Cussler never fails to included an interesting take on history and as the "What If."

Cussler tries this time to introduce some more weight to Pitt, giving him musings about still being single, and continuing to mourn loss of the love of his life. Somehow while this is not outrageous to explore, it does clunk along a bit.

The rest of the book is formula Cussler, but that's not a bad thing. He sets up a prologue situation that has very little to do with the main plot of the book, throws our heroes into a sequence of adventures where we are brought along for the fun, without the danger or worry of something dire really happening to them. And then, it's back to wrap up what was started in the prologue and tie ends together. The end.

One annoying trait, though, that continues here is Cussler's propensity to write himself into the story. Pitt and co. have far too often fortuitously run across Mr. Cussler at a very convenient moment where he can help give the little extra needed to save the day. Once was fun. Twice was indulgent. but beyond that, it's just annoying.

A work of great literature? No. But a good beach book.

Raising Valhalla is a great summer read. The faithful followers of Clive Cussler will find the book to be truly outstanding. Raising Valhalla is a classic Cussler story of good versus evil, with the usual predecessor event (in this case there are two seemingly unrelated such events -- the Vikings and Captain Nemo) setting the stage for an eventual tie-in to the main story. As would be expected, Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino again fight tremendous odds and calmly face down death repeatedly as they battle a demented, megalomaniac business man. Unlike some of the plots (and antagonists against whom Dirk and Al have done battle) in previous works, the underlying premise in Raising Valhalla does not push the envelope of ones imagination. The story is within the realm of believability. This is simply a very good novel filled with all of the action, suspense, and frequent plot twists that have become Cussler's trademark. In addition, after all of the action has been concluded, there is still a major surprise to be had in the last few pages. All-in-all, this book was a great read and very difficult to put down.

Robinson Crusoe is one of the first English novels. Written by Daniel DeFoe in the early 18th century during the rise of economic theory, this book chronicles the struggle of an economic hero shipwrecked on an island. He takes advantage of people, always looking to make money or increase economic value. Although Crusoe has religious experiences and gets preachy at times (DeFoe was of Puritan stock at a time when Puritanism was a significant force), Crusoe is a practical man. He does not let morals get in the way of carving out a prosperous life -- there are scenes where the main character is no role model. The novel is episodic, with Crusoe hopping from one scene to another. The narration isn't smooth. However, the "flaws" when compared to later writings may be forgiven because Robinson Crusoe is an early novel. Writers had not worked out the fine points of the genre. DeFoe is an important early English novelist who cobbled together economic theory, religious opinion, travel writing, and borrowed material from a contemporary shipwreck victim to create a work of fiction. Robinson Crusoe is often mislabelled as a childrens book. Perhaps in a watered down abridgement, it is a good children's book. The original, complete, unabridged work is a literary classic that should be read by any student of English literature.

Robinson Crusoe is the perfect treat for the wilderness lover. The novel takes the reader on a journey through many hardships that the main character encounters in order to display just how trying nature can be. Almost every new day, Crusoe must find and develop a new survival tactic in order to stay alive. There are several reasons why one should engulf in reading this book.
Robinson Crusoe displays strength and incredible will to survive. This can be very inspiring to someone who does not have a lot of confidence in themselves. Crusoe has faith in himself and God, believing that he will be guided in the right direction. God plays a large role in his everyday life. Crusoe never was a religious man before he was stranded on the island, but he believed God had allowed him to be the sole survivor of the shipwreck for a reason and he owed it to God to be the best man that he could be.
Another reason to read this book is that it shows that one can do whatever they put their mind to. Crusoe worked long and hard to create things that will facilitate his survival and make things more convenient for himself. He creates a protective shelter, makes his own tools, baskets, and pots, and even grows and raises his own food.
This book will also get many people to realize just how good their lives actually are. Many, not all, of us have lives that are not threatened by wondering how we will get our next meal or if someone or something is out to hunt us down, but Crusoe must face these dilemmas and find ways to secure himself. The wonderful thing about this novel is that it shows how difficult these tasks can be, yet Crusoe does not give up and he pursues his goals until they are accomplished.
This novel can instigate someone to try something new that perhaps thay were uneasy about doing before. Robinson is faced with so many new surroundings at once, yet deals with them so well. If he would have panicked, he eventually would have starved to death. Instead, Crusoe thinks logically and pursues what is needed to survive.
Robinson Crusoe is an amazing adventure novel that explores the life of a very strong-willed man. The main character tells his own story and it is as if he is speaking directly to the reader, which makes it seem even more like reality. Daniel Defoe has written a great novel.

My daughter and I have been reading (and re-reading!) the DK Classics (of which "Robinson Crusoe" is part of) for several years, since she was 5. These books are very colorful, with lots of illustrations and photos of genuine artifacts, maps, and people from the era in which the story is set. Side panel text gives background information about the author, pictures and story. These "additions" (which do not detract from, but only enhance the story) help the young reader (and the adult too!) put the story into context. It is like getting both a classic and a pictorial history book rolled into one! The text is easy to read. My daughter is now 9, and reading the books on her own. Not only has she developed an appreciation for classic literature, but for history as well. These are great books for parents to read with their children. I highly recommend them!

The book A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain is told from the view of Hank Morgan, later on known as The Boss. Hank Morgan travels back in time from the 19th century to the 5th century, in King Arthur's Court. Hank learns from a man dress in a knight's armor that it is the 5th century, he doesn't believe that he traveled back in time, he thinks he is in an asylum. Suddenly Hank remembers that the day that he was told also happened to be the same day of the first recorded full Solar Eclipse. Hank finds that he has wandering into a place where they are hanging innocent people. Hank has some fun and tells the people that he will put the world into total darkness very soon, he hopes that if it truly is the 5th century, the people will believe him. Sure enough the eclipse does happen, all the people are in awe. For the rest of the book Hank is then on known as The Boss.
Throughout the whole story, Hank gives King Arthur tips about how to be more successful. Hank goes on a venturous journey with King Arthur and he helps the King train Knights and create a large army. Hank gets a seat at the round table even though he is not a knight. Hank uses his knowledge to reinvent things that were a new invention from his time. After King Arthur dies, Hank must help the empire live on.
I recommend this to people who are 13 or older and enjoy long, very detailed books. There are also some great pictures included in the book, from portraits of Mark Twain to pictures of King Arthur pulling the sword from the stone.

Well, the perfect companion to La Morte d'Arthur...

Twain completely dissects the "good ol' days" of Arthurian Britain by exposing the vicious social practices of the time: white slavery, le droit de seigneur, confiscation of property in event of suicide, the complete lack of impartial justice, the degrading influence of the Church on the mass, etcetera etcetera etcetera...

The Arthurian legends are wonderful tales, but they are a mythic literary production; Twain deals with the brutal reality of daily living in the Dark Ages, and points out that the good ol' days were not so good, anyway.

As for its applicability to modern America, I am not fit to judge. Perhaps it's there. But "The Connecticut Yankee" is a wonderful tonic for those prone to romanticizing the past. Twain seems to agree with Tom Paine that the English nobility were "no-ability", and simply the latest in a series of robbers.

And, of course, the book is stuffed with wonderful Twainisms... My favorite is his observation that a conscience is a very inconvenient thing, and the significant difference between a conscience and an anvil is that, if you had an anvil inside you, it would be alot less uncomfortable than having the conscience.

Twain also mentions the beautiful mispronunciations of childhood, and how the bereaved parental ear listens in vain for them once children have grown.

You'll never look at castles the same again...

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is an intriguing novel written by Mark Twain. This is a fantastic book for the high school level reader, but would be entertaining to adults as well. I am a freshman in high school, and I enjoyed many attributes of the plot and writing style. In this novel the main character, Hank Morgan, is mysteriously transported from the nineteenth century in Connecticut back to the fifth century in England. During his time in medieval Britain, he keeps a journal which is what most of this book is. The preface and afterwards are both the narration of Mark Twain who writes as if he has found Hank's journal, and is merely writing it down in a book. As the journal starts out, Hank is introduced to King Arthur and after narrowly escaping death and becomes the country's most powerful advisor. Hank introduces many modern wonders to this feudal society. He is hailed a magician, being able to perform wonderful "miracles" and "magic", when it really is only modern science. It is very entertaining to read about how the feeble-minded people of that time react to these feats. In the end, there is a tremendous battle with many exciting episodes leading up to it. If a reader is partial to battle scenes of high caliber, this is a book for him! Of course, Hank has many other battles as well. Once of his biggest enemies is the Church of England. The big question the reader asks themselves during this book is "Will Hank return to his time and if so, how?". It was exciting for me to ponder this question throughout the novel. During Hank's travels through medieval Britain, he meets many people. The people he meets who think a government ruled by the people in Britain (his ultimate goal) would be a good idea, he sends to Camelot where he has schools set up which teach people about modern governmental ideas. Schools were also set up to teach people how to produce his wonders of modern science. These few enlightened people remain loyal to Hank until the very end. I thought it an entertaining notion that people who were trained from birth to believe in one thing, could realize it's faults and begin to believe another things. I really enjoy this book because it brings a lot about human nature into question. It discusses the vast differences of beliefs, manners, and life styles between one hundred years ago and fourteen hundred years ago. I also thought the differences between classic Arthurian legend and Mark Twain's perspective of the time were very interesting. Hanks training of these idealistic people he runs across plays into the large political aspect of this book. Since Hank's ultimate goal is to transform Britain into a country ruled by the people, he starts factories producing modern goods which greatly changes the lives of the Britons. I enjoyed the descriptions of the people's reaction to these modern products of science thirteen centuries before they would be invented. Throughout the entire book commentary and philosophizing concerning the comparison of the fifth century feudal system of Britain and the nineteenth century democracy of the U.S. by Hank Morgan is common. This political aspect is typical of Twain's works. It gave me great pleasure to read this aspect of the book and to comprehend it's meaning. Through Hank Morgan, Mark Twain is able to depict vivid images in the readers mind. Whether it be a person, scene, or sensation felt by Hank Twain describes it in a way which puts a solid picture in the imagination of the reader. I have not seen the movie of this novel, but I have heard it isn't very well done and it is nothing compared to the book. I believe this is because Mark Twain paints such a realistic picture in the mind of the reader, it is nothing compared to what some director can film. From Mark Twain's great descriptions and writing style to the unique ideas presented, the novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is a fantastic novel. There are so many aspects of it to enjoy, and it is just an all around entertaining book. I give this book four out of five stars and I recommend it to any one interested in fantasy, especially if they want a different perspective on King Arthur.

Mr. Auster has never been one of my favorite writers. Mr. Vertigo and The Music of Chance are too cutesy--too "written," for my taste. I've always preferred my writers a little crazier, a bit less cerebral, a bit more visceral. My father gave me this book, and I read it because some students of mine in a fiction class were trying to write stories from a dog's point of view. (It was very helpful for the class.) I was surprised that I liked it as much as I did, but I had the same problem with it that I had with the rest of his books. He's not satisfied with just getting inside the dog's head (which he does, with occasionally delightful results--"...it was more than just love or devotion that caused Mr. Bones to dread what was coming. It was pure ontological terror."), but then he has to comment on it in the cutesy voice of his close-3rd person narrator: "How was [Mr. Bones] to know that those missing parts had been responsible for turning him into a father many times over?" It's as if he's condescending to his pooch protagonist. Poor Mr. Bones. I felt for him at the end of the book, when Mr. Auster forces him into a denouement that he doesn't deserve. Still, the book has some great moments, and I actually liked the crazy Mr. Christmas, whose schizophrenic monologues are like something out of Beckett.

This book requires two different reviews depending on whether or not the perspective reader has previously read any Auster.

If you haven't, this book is a fine, interesting read (forget the Kirkus dog/god thing, you won't find "pure corn will cure porn" anywhere else). Auster is a modern master. The book will do you good as long as you can forgive Auster's careless application of his style of prose to every charcter's voice in the novel (well, most of them).

If you have read more than three Auster books, you should know by now that Auster basically comes up with pretty much the same plot in every novel. The details and the subtlties vary, but this book is basically a mixture of The Music of Chance and parts of the New York Trilogy. If you read this expecting to find something completely new, you'll be disapointed. I think that's why so many people have reacted badly to Mr. Vertigo (which was an excellent book). Auster has a number of brilliant ideas in Timbuktu. There are only two major problems with the text. First, the point of view is not even slightly a dog's point of view. Don't be fooled. Auster isn't even close to being consistent with Dr. Bone's voice (Ingloosh...English setter?) Ok, next, as pointed out, the forty pages or so spent in suburbia are very disenchanting, but one can argue that a suburban landscape requires suburban plot and imagery...cest la guerre.

BTW, if this book comes even close to being a best seller, I'll personally get a tatoo of Santa Claus on my arm. This is far from a sellout.

This book is an interesting departure for acclaimed novelist Paul Auster, an author who has moved far in his literary career. Beginning with Kafkaesque tales of New York landscapes and dark futures in "The New York Trilogy" and "In the Country of Last Things", Auster's darker earlier career peaked with "The Music Of Chance"-- an excellent book of (once again) Kafka-like opression, mixed in with chaos theory and a compelling tale of servitude, depression and love. After this period, and his amazing screenplay "Smoke", Auster seems to have begun his great-American-allegory phase. The book "Leviathan" works as a bridge into his greatest work (And farthest departure) "Mr. Vertigo"-- a book about flight, the American spirit, the early twentieth century and the state of humanity that is like a Huckleberry Finn for the twentieth century. Within this phase falls his latest wor, "Timbuktu", a work that, while not as satisfying as "Mr. Vertigo" works on the same premise of taking what appears on its face to be cliched and ridiculous (learning to fly, a dog for a narrator etc.) and making an immensely serious, beautifully written book. While this book is not nearly the meisterwerk that Mr. Vertigo was, it is still entertaining, refreshing, inventive and delicate. A story told with immense care and beauty.

This is not the best or worst from Stephen King based on the novels of his that I've read. The idea is great and the story has an evil undercurrent running through it which is a trademark of Kings.

The basic story is how lawyer Billy Halleck and two others from his town cross a gypsy elder who then lays a different curse on each of them. Billy's curse is that he just keeps getting thinner, regardless of what he eats, every day he loses a few more pounds. The two other townsfolk have horrid curses inflicted on them, I don't want to give too much away but the reason for the skin disease is a bit confusing to me.

The curses themselves are absolutely disgusting and if King's idea was to make me feel a bit ill, it worked. Only thing is that it detracts from the enjoyment of the book. I prefer the scary approach to his novels. He also has a tendency to paint his main characters with flaws that leave you unsure as to whether you should hope they get out of the predicament or are happy for them to meet the fate they deserve. Once you meet the gypsies and find they are just as despicable as the cursed characters the book just becomes a race to the end to find out what happens. You don't end up barracking for anyone.

One character I did enjoy was the Ginelli, the New York mobster who comes to save Billy. He has an honesty that the other characters seem to lack but his motivation for getting involved in the situation as deeply as he does is unclear, and his fate is predictable.

Plenty of shocks and horror but it appears to be one that was done with less care than many of his others. However it is comparitvely short so if you are a fan and don't want to commit to one of his lengthy efforts then this is worth a try.

I bought 'Thinner' back when I discovered that Richard Bachman was actually Stephen King under a pen name, and was pleasantly surprised at how entertaining this novel was from the very beginning. What a stunning premise! After an unfortunate accident killing a Gypsy, our handsome lead character has his cheek brushed lightly by another who whispers one word, 'Thinner'. After this incident, he begins to lose weight...a LOT of weight -- and all without trying. Now is this the new miracle diet the world has been looking for? I doubt it. He eats and eats and continues to drop the pounds as though he were experiencing overnight liposuction without his knowledge.

As he goes from overweight to supermodel-thin in a short period of time, his fears multiply on a daily basis that he will die from this curse inflicted upon him and ultimately decides to seek help from Gypsys. This is (for me anyway) where the storyline went from a cool supernatural thriller to a hokey curse-driven

tale. Don't get me wrong, I don't think I could have come up with a more believable ending, but for some reason, it just didn't add up. I can't exactly put my finger on what exactly it was that I feel short-changed me in the storyline, but suffice it to say that despite my feelings, this really is a first rate novel of suspense and is told well. Stephen King deserves his status as the greatest horror novelist of all-time, and while this may not be his greatest tale, it certainly was better than a lot of his other books that were hailed as great works of fiction. Judge for yourself, I think you'll like it anyway.

With a sickening thud, Billy Halleck realizes it is too late to turn around and re-do the last scene that had just occurred. If he had been paying attention, he would have seen the old gypsy woman crossing the street. Halleck never knew the long-lasting effects of the gypsy man with the rotting nose who had caressed his cheek afterwards and uttered the fateful word, "Thinner." But six weeks later and over ninety pounds lighter, he knows that it is too late to think about the past. Billy Halleck, a once good husband and loving father, finds himself on a wild goose chase down the coast, starting in Connecticut. He is searching for the gypsy who cursed him. Billy must also deal with the knowledge that everything thinks he is crazy, and no one believes his insane story. But it is only a matter of time before Billy is slowly killed by the curse.
Thinner, a horror novel by Stephen King, weaves together a book with all the elements of a suspenseful thriller. With his descriptive words and your imagination, he paints a picture in your mind so vivid, you would swear you were there with the characters in the book. Although it is an advanced book, it is a great read for anyone who needs a good, thrilling mystery with a twist that leaves you thinking. If Thinner appealed to you, other books such as Desperation or Firestarter would be wonderful books to read. Thinner is one of the best books you will ever read, not only because of its plot and interesting characters, but because you never quite know how it could turn out'

I have read most of the reviews of Serpent and see that many people believe that Clive Cussler wrote this book with some help from a collaborator, Paul Kemprecos. Actually, Cussler only developed the plot outline and the characters while Kemprecos wrote the novel (although with Cussler's name in huge letters and Kemprecos' name in much smaller letters on the cover, I understand why people think that way, but that's book publisher marketing for you).

One can tell fairly early that the prose is not that of Cussler. Kemprecos likes to take several pages to set a scene, going into detail as to the twists and turns of a boat adventure before he describes the little bit of action that occurs. Cussler ususally gives just enough detail to set the stage for what becomes a ton of action. That is why I don't think Serpent should be considered a "Clive Cussler novel", because it isn't, despite the packaging.

There are a lot of pages spent on details not that important to the main story, especially the subplot of Gamay Trout and Dr. Chi's adventure (I didn't think that would ever end). The new heros, Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala, appear sporatically throughout the book and are not well developed. They aren't Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino clones, not even close.

I also thought that the book ended rather abruptly for all the buildup. But I will say that Kemprecos tied the storylines together fairly well at the end, so the book was not bad at all, just a little too long (about 100 pages, I'd say).

Overall, a Cussler fan should read this new book, because he may be setting the stage for Kemprecos to take over the series someday when Cussler and Pitt retire to enjoy tequila on the beach. If that's the case, I hope Kemprecos gets a better feel for developing action sequences.

No one would call Cussler's work great literature, but even we literary snobs need our "trash" reading and for that, Cussler has been my favorite author since Raise the Titanic and Night Probe. Sometimes the dialogue is cheesy and the overuse of adjectives makes you laugh out loud, but to leave it at that would miss the point -- these books are action adventures, so mellow out! Although I liked Kurt and Joe, I miss my old friend Dirk Pitt (and good old Al). The two heros in the new series are so similar that I'm surprised he bothered to introduce new characters. Switch a hobby here and there (dueling pistols for antique cars) and change hair and eye color, and voila, Dirk becomes Kurt.

As for the plot, the opening chapters are, as usual, riveting as we watch the horrifying crash of the Andrea Doria. It's a formula that has worked in many other Cussler books. This one pulls all the regular punches and will hold most readers' attention although the plot flags here and there (I too think too many switch offs between Cussler and his co-author). I found the end a bit too tidy -- the excitement wears off around the 2nd two thirds of the novel. Still, for NUMA fans, a worthwhile read which will keep you up at night turning pages.

When I went to my local bookstore and saw a new novel by CLIVE CUSSLER, I just HAD to get it. The next day, I hopped on the PWC, found a secluded lakeside spot, and read the book in one sitting. Historically motivated plot, new characters, cameos by our old favorites, Cussler at his best, right? Well, not exactly! My favorite author takes so long between Dirk Pitt novels that it almost seems like he HAD to quickly create a novel to tie his fans over until ATLANTIS FOUND. I liked the new characters and the fresh writing style of his co-author, but it seemed a bit rushed and unsatisfying overall (I'm spoiled by DP novels, what can I say!). Knowing CUSSLER, the next one will be much better ... RIGHT Mr.C?

In their efforts to parallel their "C++-how to program", the Deitels have only made their "Java -how to program" very confusing for a beginner -Java, unlike C++ is a purely object oriented language, hence it doesn't make sense to see real object oriented programming start in chapter 8 -while the reader is supposed to take whatever is presented in first 7 chapters at face value.

The Deitels spend way too many pages explaining every concept and that accounts for the sheer girth of the book and a lot of it is redundant.

This is a ok book if you want to see a lot of sample code or if you want to try the exercises but definitely not the book if you are a beginner.

I would recommend "Thinking in Java" by Bruce Eckel if you are new to Java and then a look at this book to look at the huge sample code and try out some of the challenging exercises.

I've been a software developer for 20 years and this is the best textbook I've ever read! The Deitel's provide clear explanations and programming examples on just about every Java topic available and then some.

The writing goes into great detail, but is very readable and not boring, which I like. Some reviewers say that some explanations are repetitive, but that's good, because any repetition is used in its proper context and that's the way we learn best.

I would ignore the reviews that give this book 1 or 2 stars, most likely they are from college students that shouldn't be studying Computer Science and Java in the first place, and they want to take their frustration and lack of ability out on this text book and not take any responsibility

If you like college textbook style learning, with plenty of detail, code examples, practice questions, practice programs, and wonderful summaries at the end of each chapter, then buy this book.

I'm very impressed by the quality of this book. The colorfull printing greatly improves the overall readability. This is a great learning course for programming and Java beginners at the same time. The book emphasizes the delicate balance, between engineering quality and brute performance, which a programmer must strive for. It gives lots of excellent advices and warnings which also make cool breaks along heavily commented code parts and detailled explanations. The course is very progressive : each new program keeps short and adds only one concept or one kind of instruction or instruction use, or one kind of package or Java class. Each chapter ends with a full review of itself : list of new terms, simple exercises with solutions, less easy exercices left to the reader. (Students will feel at home with these ones.) Although the book is not a Java reference, it gives lots of web links and a good companion CD with such links and it tells you where to look at Java or Sun sites all along the text.

I used this book as a refresher on programming, plus to learn Java after having only known Pascal and Fortran, but without having exposure to object oriented programming.

The authors often make the mistake of using example code that contains techniques and methods that aren't covered until later chapters. Also, while the chapters proceed in a well developed order, topics within the chapter are poorly organized so that you often don't understand why a particular sub-topic is being covered at the moment.

Finally, the page layout, font size, and font type are the worse I've seen in any manual on Java I've bought since. Lines are spaced too closely together, key ideas fail to stand out, insufficient whitespace, lack of section headers, etc. The layout editor ought to be fired.

However, the book is good in that it provides a wide selection of topics and does cover just about every fundamental that you'd want to know about Java, including numerous examples.

This book provides a superb introduction to the Java language. This was my textbook for a college Java class, and it served its purpose well. I used the Dietel & Dietel C++ book for my C++ class here at school, and D&D's Java textbook is equally well-written. The layout and writing style make the book a pleasure to read, and the authors provide very valuable tips and mentions of things to note. I have to give this an 8 instead of a 10 because it is now a little behind the times (it's written for the 1.0.x language spec), and is introductory. Don't get me wrong...it serves its purpose as an introductory textbook very well, but once you've used the book to learn the major parts of the language, you'll be looking for books that go into more detail on more advanced topics (such as threads). Then again, it may be better that advanced topics are covered in less detail, to keep the book from becoming too long and/or cluttered. If you're looking for a great way to learn Java, and you don't mind not learning about 1.1 changes, this is the book for you. You might do well to get this book to learn the language, and then pick up another book -- probably a reference -- from which you can pick up the new 1.1 changes

I've read with interest many of the comments about the strengths and weaknesses of this book, and I agree with all of them !

What many writers appear to overlook is that this is intended as a textbook. It's written to be used as part of learning with the help of an experienced person providing training in an introduction to Java, not as a standalone reference. The examples are not intended to be used without help from an instructor and therefore need not be complete and can indeed refer to material not yet covered in the text.

I have used the second edition of the book as a main text in a college corse I teach. For this purpose it is easily the best Java book I have seen. The examples are numerous and vary not only in topic but in complexity - the student can choose his or her own level. The example code actually works, which is not the case with many Java books these days. The line-by-line descriptions of the examples are very helpful to students. All fundamental areas of the language are covered with hands-on assignments provided by the authors.

The other really interesting thing about this book is that is offers more detail about each topic than the reader needs to 'make it work'. I learned a few things about the language myself while using the textbook - for instance, the fact that Java throws an exception if the variable in a switch statement is out of range for the data type used. This turned out to be useful when I earned my Java 2 certification. As a student, I like that sort of text - I can learn more than the minimum if I am really interested.

Many people, but not all, would be able to use this book standalone. But you have to know that it's meant to be used as a basic introduction to Java syntax and have those expectations ! Used that way, I would strongly recommend it to anyone.

I agree with comments that suggest the text is not a good reference for learning OO design. But in my experience there are few really useful OO design references in existence ! Personally I think that expecting a person to learn OO design and a new programming language at the same time is a too much to ask and underestimates the difficulty of understanding OO principles and techniques. I would teach the text first and a course in OO design, including patterns, later. In my opinion the syntax used to express design must be mastered first to avoid confusion of design with a particular language.

This book definantly tells you how to have some good study / reading skills. Essentially, it tells you to do stuff that I believe most people do when they actually like a book and are excited about reading it. For instance, you read the back cover, the leaflet, and perhaps the table of contents and even the introduction. Then if you are really excited to get started you may even skim the first couple of paragraphs and key charts / pictures in each chapter. Some people do all this without even leaving the bookstore! This strategy makes the concepts more familiar. Familiarity breeds liking. Liking breeds motivation, comfort and fun. This is the ideal learning state. However, NONE OF THIS IS ANY NEW NEWS. The crux of the system is the photoreading part. And I have NO IDEA IF IT WORKS OR NOT. I'd really like to believe it does, but I have my doubts. How can you learn something when your eyes are not even focused? Paul says to look at the "shape of the text," "by pretending your focus point is behind the book. However, this makes the text quite blurry. I find it very unlikely that you could assimilate information that you aren't even focused on. I think the standard example to counter this would be "You are at a party, talking to one of your friends, and not paying attention to other conversations. All of a sudden you hear your name being mentioned from across the room, and your brain alerts you to this being important, even though you weren't 'conscious' of paying attention." Fine, except that I think the equivalent example in reading would be if you turned to a page where the text WAS ALL OF A SUDDEN IN HUGE FONT AND ALL CAPS. Then you pay attention and absorb. Otherwise your brain skips over it as 'unimportant' and you don't absorb. Anyway, if I ever figure out the photo part, I will write another review for 5 stars. If someone wants to let me know what I'm doing wrong, please e-mail me at: consultcc@aol.com

Halfway through the book. When I originally bought this book all the reviews were split on if photoreading really works. It does but it's not that easy...at first. It relies heavily on your ability to go into a meditative trance to read at absurdly high rates. Many people will sit down and try and think it's full of ... and that it doesnt' work. It works but the key is to not to try too hard. You have to let it happen. Much like how meditating works. You have to let go and trust it to work.
The only bad thing about this book is it is alot of info shoved into a book. And the info density is fairly high. It's moderate in reading difficulty but it can be gotten through. How thigns are explained repetitively is because the concepts are extremely simple yet not easily understood.
The whole mind system or whatever it's called, basically takes everything you know about reading and throws it out the window, they want you to start from scratch. This is hard because it's become second nature, just like how speech and driving becomes second nature. dont look at a page and see words see patterns of text.
The way it actually works in the end via activation is simply by 'reminding' yourself of the info. It's there, you just dont conciously know it beucase you didn't conciously read it. It's like if someone drove you somewhere and then you were asked to drive to teh same location, but with you driving, not them. You sit tehre and go'oh yeah I saw this landmarka dn that one' teh 'oh yeah' part is you reembering, even though you didn't conciously really notice the land marks. Hope this review helps.
Your memory will incrase. I see it as your brain adapting, to the new ability to have vastly incrased amounts of info dumped into it. Got more traffic? Build a highway. The only puzzle to this one is; are dormant neural connectiosn activated, or does the brain construct new ones to accomdoate the extra memory bandwidth needed?

I'd give this book ten stars if I could!

Just as the late great sleeping prophet Edgar Cayce was able to access the other than conscious mind to absorb the information contained in many books by literally sleeping on them, you too will be able to tap the enormous abilities of your own inner mind by reading and using the simple steps detailed in this book!

By using this book my school work has become so much easier. I PhotoRead 6-7 books one evening and the next day wrote an annotated bibliography on them in about an hour's time. My professor confessed that it was the best annotated bibliography that he had EVER read!

This system works. Practice it and you will never go back to the traditional method of reading. My comment to anyone who says that this PhotoReading does not, or cannot work, is that it just has to be practised a little bit more by some people, and that openness is a necessary key for accessing the PhotoReading state necessary. Doubt is the biggest "monkey wrench" in this system.

Just remember that your subconscious mind has remembered everything since even before you were born! The difficulty has been in accessing that enormous storehouse of information. Now you can learn from this book that the information is made available through a clear intention set just prior to PhotoReading.

Please, just buy this book, try it's methods consciensciously, and be amazed!