Rating: 
Summary: From a very experienced developer
Review: I don't understand anyone who would give this book a negative review. I've been in the field for 19+ years and have yet to see a better reference manual in any subject. And that's what it is, a reference manual for those who already know the language. It shouldn't be judged by any other standard, in particular by novices still learning the language. I've seen plenty of books on the subject and none come close to Stroustrup's. And why should they. Stroustrup is the language's inventor and nobody knows the subject better than him. It clearly shows in the detail and understanding that leaps off each page. And the great thing is you can trust what you're reading because you absolutely know it's correct. That security is rare with most authors. So why read a 3rd-party synopsis on relativity if you have a book by Einstein himself (ok, we all know Einstein was in his own league but the point is made). This book isn't a treatise on C++ and isn't intended to be. It's a reference manual and it fullfils that role with excellence, touching just about every major component of the language. Quite a feat considering the book's compactness coupled with the language's huge size and complexity. It doesn't take long to realize how extensive Stroustrup's understanding is of not only C++, but programming in general. I thought I was good after hundreds of thousands of lines of code, but here is a real master and it clearly shows. Between this book and my copy of the C++ standard itself, I have rarely ever had to consult any other source. If you're an experienced or otherwise competent C++ developer than neither will you. If you're a novice, buy it anyway. You'll ultimately need it.
Rating: 
Summary: Hands-on book, excellent reference
Review: The master of 'em all, Bjarne Stroustrup. The C++ Programming Language is a wonderful intermediate-level reference book on the language.Be warned, this is not a tutorial. This has been written for those already proficient (or conversant) in the language. And for such readers, this is a treat. Unlike many other texts, this is a hands-on book. It requires a good deal of commitment from the reader, because it's not written in a way as to make you laugh every third line - believe me, it's a serious book. As for the content, you'll find that it is presented in a clear-cut and straightforward format that you'll love to read. My C++ shelf would be incomplete without this one. It's an excellent reference text
Rating: 
Summary: Not a great text or reference
Review: I expected to enjoy or at least reference this book a lot, as it allegedly follows the style of the excellent "The C programming language". In practice I rarely use this book (despite owning both edition 1 and 3). There are many good alternative books, and I recommend that you look at those instead.
Rating:
Summary: The definitive C++ book for experts
Review: You won't learn C++ from this book, but once you know it, you'll find yourself returning to this book over and over again. Nobody goes beyond the introductory details of C++ into the nitty-gritty better than Bjarne. Plus, if you want to know WHY the language does something, he often includes little tidbits of what the language would be like without some feature that really clears things up. Especially useful when one of your co-workers wants to do something really stupid with C++. You can always find an authoritative quote in this book to tell them why it's a bad idea. Is someone quoting "Effective C++" to you to say you are all wrong? Find in this book the exceptions to the rules that Scott Meyers didn't bother to explain. This book is not for beginners, but no expert should be without it.
Rating:
Summary: Another Must Have for your Programming Library
Review: This book is definitely very dense in information pertaining to C++ and different methods of utlizing it. Much like the language itself, what you get out of it mimicks your perception of how you currently utilize C++. I have read this book and some of its sections numerous times. (Some just to let the information sink in) If you are a beginner I am pretty sure this book will be a bit much but if you end up using C++ in any serious way, you will acquire this book and get much from it. A must have for your library in any case. I puchased this book years ago and really didn't appreciate it's true depth till much later in my development career. It has paid for itself in my opinion as far as perception changes and promoting "proper" ways of utilizing C++ dependent on the situation.
Rating: 
Summary: Difficult, you must already program in C++ to benefit
Review: I bought this believing that it would be the equivalent of "The C Programming Language" by Kernighan & Ritchie-- clear, consise, and accurate. I can't fault it for accuracy, but the writing is very dense, and organized in such a way that someone without previous knowledge of the C++ would not be able to learn much from it. After reading "Thinking in C++" by Bruce Eckel and "Learn C++ in 21 Days" by Jessie Liberty, I was able to understand Stroustrup's book, sort of. I think this is a nice book to have, but I'm not sure it cannot be replaced by others which are more accessible.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book for Intermediate C++ Developers
Review: If you are an intermediate developer seeking a book that will take you to the next level, this book is it. It goes into the intricate details of all the C++ constructs you thought you knew how to use. The author goes into detail about Exception Handling, Namespaces, STL, Memory Management, OOD, and more. This book is a great mixture of concept and implementation information, giving the why, when, and how for each concept. I highly recommend this book to Intermediate programmers (I suggest beginning programmer's find another book to use first). Regards,
Cole
Rating:
Summary: Preparation needed for the book
Review: A simultaneous reading of articles written by Stroustrup can be very helpful in understanding the book. Consider for instance the article, "What is object oriented programming," published in IEEE Spectrum, 1986. In this article, Stroustrup first lays out different paradigms used by various programming languages, and then moves on to elaborate those which are essential for a language to be labeled object-oriented. To my mind, the book is essentially an expansion of the articles. In some respects I have found the articles to be more enlightening because there you see Stroustrup on front lines pounding hard on competitors. It's easy to get lost in the book but the articles are focused. Undeniably, a preparation is needed for the book. There are many books ...
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly Written
Review: This book jumps around far too often to be readily comprehensible. It does not work well as an introduction to C++. This book was misused for an introductory class. I then learned C++ from other sources and now I try and come back to it as a reference and it is too dense to be helpful even now. I consider this book a severe waste of money.
Rating:
Summary: This is a great book!
Review: I am an experienced C++ programmer. I bought this book to further my knowledge on C++. If you know C++ already this is probably the best book to have for reference that I could imagine.
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