Well worth the money

This book rules!

It is lean, terse (but all the more readable for the economy of words that are directed (and funny at times) rather than self-aggrandising verbosity) but is is focused right at that which you need to know. These guys just dish it up: it's like ok, here's what you need to know, and here's how it works...and have a fully functional program to see it in practice and in context.

This is without question a highly usable and worthy book. It might be a little too fast for the complete novice, but anybody with some programming should be okay. These guys will guide you and feed you bite sized peices that are relevant and succinct.

If you like bloat and prattle...don't buy this book. You need a story book. This is for see the hill- take the hill kind of people who don't have time to wade through pages of drivel. But of course, you still have to earn it: you needs some brains!

Covers the basics and should put you in good stead for the the next onslaught: Core Java 2 - Advanced!

...what the prior two reviews said and...

Ignore the previous comment to buy the 5th edition. JDK 1.4 adds many time saving classes(RegEx's, Enhanced formatting in Swing). This alone will save you many hours with the tedious aspects of Swing. Also, I personally like a book that takes up less space and is lighter.

I also like that the book doesn't tediously walk you through the sample code after listing it. New concepts are presented with code snippets, then the sample code is laid out. I learn best by figuring out puzzles for myself, and not being walked regurgitatingly through it again.

Chapter layout is good, _EXCEPT_, Exceptions should should be stressed very early in the book, not next to last. Having a good exception understanding is paramount in a object message handling system. Sadly, probably most people don't get this far in the book.

Highly Recommended along with Core JFC (if your doing a lot of Swing).

If you're new to Java, this book is up there with the top.

If you're an experienced programmer with a solid C++ background and need to learn and master Java, this book and Core Java 2, Volume II are must-haves. These books cut to the essentials quickly and concisely. The C++ NOTEs are excellent -- pointing out how similiar language tasks are done in Java in relation to C++. The authors definitely have been there, and know that experienced programmers will constantly be thinking in terms of their language of experience.
The books do a great job of covering the core Java language and much of Java's broad class libraries. I wish there was more complete coverage of Collections but this is a minor drawback. Overall the books will give you excellent exposure to the core areas of Java.

This book is helpful because it lays out the CI process in an easy way. I share this with others in my workplace since it can be read quickly and is easy to follow. I'd recommend this to others who are new to the field and want to get up to speed quickly about CI. For those already doing CI, you are better off picking a more advanced treatment.

This was my first CI related book purchase - and it fulfilled my beginner needs. This book is formatted as a working aid in content and set-up. There are no easy answers here, but providing guidelines and example templates for organizing your work is the author's strong point. Reading this is as if you are a student in his class working through a complicated assignment for the first time.

Bottom line - good for learning the basic rules and tools, but perhaps too fundamental for the experienced CI professional.

I am new to the field of Competitive Intelligence and thought that this book would be a very good place to start off. For one thing, it is quite short. The pages are all double spaced and, condensed, could probably fit in 15 pages. However, the content is exactly what I was looking for. A short, concise and easy to relate to outline of the entire field of Competitive Intelligence. The "forms" that are included aren't worth much other than a general idea of what might be included in forms that you will have to create yourself. The most valuable tool of this book is its step by step approach to a topic that I was totally unfamilliar with. If you know CI... don't get this book. If you have never heard of CI... buy it and read it twice.