Rating: 
Summary: Only a reference to Standard C++
Review: Stroustrup's book is a nice reference to any intermediate or experienced C++ programmers. It brings you "back to the basics" with reference about Standard C++. Though, the "back to basics" descriptions are not meant for beginners, but it seems more meant for programmers to reflect the meanings of the C++ language and any tricks you have forgotten. Given the complexity of C++, this book is best suited for people who either know the language or people who need a "refresher" of the language. Though, given "real life" situations, this book may not give you "earth-shattering" abilities since API's are the core of functionality to any program nowadays and now must complement C++.
Rating:
Summary: Almost perfect
Review: I found the style of this book to describe the various mechanisms in C++ almost perfect... It is obvious that the author knows what he's talking about and it gives some confidence that this is the book to read. Whenever I'm not sure on some C++ concept, I turn to the book and get a satisfying answer, and it's not only a matter of syntax, but of the concepts and ideas behind the tools offered by C++. The only problem, in my opinion, is that Stroustroup doesn't explain the algorithms of STL too well... Perhaps he shouldn't have included in the book at all, as there are some excellent STL references. I find it hard to understand from this book how to use the various containers & algorithms, and it is pity, because the rest of the book is written extremely well.
Rating: 
Summary: The best C++ book
Review: This book is for those who have just finished "Learn C++ in 21 Days" stuff and want to learn the rest of C++. It covers the whole C++ programming language, and it teaches many advanced programming concepts along with the language features. When you finish this book, you are not only a better C++ programmer but also a better programmer. This book is for C++, what K&R is for C and even more.
Rating:
Summary: For Professionals and Aspiring Professionals
Review: Stroustrup has offered up the third edition of his classic, "The C++ Programming Language", and it remains as important a work to have on your bookshelf as any. C++ is a multi-layered language, relatively simple for simple tasks, and growing in both elegance and complexity as the size and scope of your projects demand. Like it has been stated in numerous other reviews, I would have to concur that this should be a new programmer's SECOND book. Having been a while since I learned C++ myself, I can't really recommend one to start with, but I'm sure there's a lot of fine books out there to teach the basics.Stroustrup takes a different approach than most, because he IS different than most. As the inventor of C++, he can offer unique insights into the language where other authors might merely shrug their shoulders and wonder with the rest of us. Because of this level of expertise, C++ experience should be considered a must, as Stroustrup is basically talking "one professional programmer to another" in both content and style. Introductory fluff is excluded (hey, we're talking covering a whole language in one book here), but expect discussion on every topic near and dear to his heart. My philosophy is, when the inventor of C++ has some insight to offer, I would be foolish not to listen.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic All-In-One book
Review: This book is THE book for C++. Written by the creator of C++, this takes you through the minute details of the language. A background is C or another language is assumed. He goes through all of the nuances of the language. A large part of each chapter is designated for design decision. He shows different ways to handle a simple problem, showing the advantages of C++ as well as the tradeoffs for each decision. The back of the book has a substantial reference guide - Great for quick or in-depth explanation of specific functionality. It is a nice combination of tutorial and reference. The beginning tutorial parts can get a pick overwhelming at times, but some selective skimming will keep you sane if you're getting a crash course in C++.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a first course text
Review: I was assigned this book as a first course text in C++. Bad Idea! It may be as Whitehead said of all to follow Plato: a long list of foot notes to expound the dense writings of the master(OK thats not it exactly... but I think the point is clear). This book is very difficult for a beginner and should be avoided by all mortals for at least until you have gone through a more appropriate primer such as the one offered by Lipman and Lajoie.
Rating:
Summary: Solid language reference
Review: I give this book 5 stars, because I consider it essential. That is, I think that anyone who wants to call himself a C++ programmer really should really get the words "straight from the horses mouth". The book is very broad, and covers topics in a fair degree of depth. However, I found it to be a little short on examples. Certainly too much so for it to be considered a "textbook". The structure of the book makes it unsuitable for beginners, because it doesn't lay things out in a tutorial style. It reads more like a discussion of the language and the library for someone who is already familiar with it. I'd recommend it to someone who's already been through a comprehensive textbook (such as Dietel and Dietel)
Rating: 
Summary: It's too long, no focus, and no structure
Review: This book is too long and has too little structure to be useful as a reference. At least for a professional who has already quite good background and has to live with some time constraints.
I understand that the book is supposed to be the definitive C++ reference. (Well at least for those who don't want to read ANSI Chinese) But then it is full of OO and general programming style issues. Of course it's all useful information, and no doubt Stroustrup is a respected expert of his field. But just imagine you look for a small piece of very concrete language information, which could be presented in 2 minutes. OK, it's C++, so you would probably need 5 minutes. At least for myself this is the number one use case. However, the messy presentation, the few overly general chapter headings, and the poor index of this book mean that you end up reading 2 hours all kind of stuff you weren't really looking for at this moment. If you have plenty of time and enjoy to study the language in a broader context, this might be indeed a good book. I keep my old second edition and my ARM (The annotated C++ reference manual). Of course they are partially technically obsolete, and Stroustrup has never put things really shortly. But the development was very much towards the worse. My recommendation to the author would be: make it at least 2, if not 3 books: One for language, and then one or more for the OO topics, the programming style etc.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant! Explains the why's of C++, not just the how's
Review: I took a C++ course a while ago, where this book was used as the reference in addition to lecture notes. I appreciate it very much and have returned to it over and over again. As others have stated, this is not a good text-book for beginners - they will be much better off with a kick-start introduction which also relies on a particular development environment (e.g. Borland C++ Builder). And if you want a quick reference, then this is probably not the best either. But it gives an in-depth understanding of the language, as probably only its creator can provide. I use it as a reference when there is a detail I don't quite understand (as opposed to "can't get to work"), and then occasionly I read (or re-read) entire chapters which often changes the way I think of C++. It has definitely improved my programming!
Rating:
Summary: Depends what you plan on doing...
Review: This book, as many have said, is a reference book. This book was assigned to me for a C++ course I took in college. The reason I rated the book 2stars is although this is a reference book, it WILL be handy to those who already went through C++ and just need something to kick their C++ memeory back into gear. If you want to learn C++, get something else, and before you buy it, you should go through a couple online book stores and browse the reviews, it helps. Even for a reference book, the problems at the end of some chapters do not have answers to them. There are answers but thats a whole other book! His sample code in the book is all chopped up. He starts a problem in the beginning of the chapter and then he starts adding to them WHILE he explains things. I don't know about the other people who read this book but I would rather have the code up front and then have it explained to me. The separations in sample code, the way Stroustup does it, is difficult to follow; i.e. you may spend half of your reading time flipping to ch.9.7 from ch 3. So get this book after you learned C++ as a REFERENCE book ONLY!
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