Rating: 
Summary: A spectrum of ideas, well-presented
Review: There seem to be a lot of programmers out there who hate computer science....SICP reminds me a lot of the Feynman Lectures in the physics world; it may not be the best introductory text (except for the best students, who would learn everything anyway), but it is great to turn back to after one has been exposed to some of the ideas. There is certainly a place for books such as this, and I don't mean the last sentence as a criticism. Seeing an elegant presentation of the fundamentals of any field is always pleasant, and it can stir up forgotten ideas and enthusiasm. I think SICP will also appeal to many scientists, who (1) write terrible programs because they learned FORTRAN from their advisor who learned FORTRAN from his advisor who..., (2) are open-minded enough to change, and (3) won't be intimidated by the (simple and peripheral) mathematical examples in the first couple of chapters. It is true that the book is slightly quirky. For example, as long as the authors are going to alienate the sort of people who gave them one-star reviews, why not give prominent introductions to the theory of computation, functional programming, and correctness? These topics are addressed, but concepts like Church numerals and the halting problem end up buried in problems and footnotes. On the other hand, it is refreshing to read a book with some personality. As an added bonus, SICP is a good size and attractively bound and printed.
Rating:
Summary: Eminently practical but yet simple
Review: I hated this book as a student. I hated having to learn Scheme. I now love this book. It talks about programming with a lot of depth. (e.g. why a function which calls itself might not necessarily be recursive in its execution). I have learned a lot about how programs behave by studying this book. You will too, if you put in the effort needed to think through and work the exercises. Don't do the exercises and you won't understand a thing. Scheme is a beautiful language to learn especially if you get EMACS to help you match and indent your code. Scheme is especially wonderful to learn SICP because you need not worry about Scheme syntax -- there is hardly any. It is tough to learn programming concepts and language syntax both at the same time. Garden variety programmers are of the mistaken belief that a knowledge of syntax makes them wizard programmers. It does not. After you are done with this book as a student, don't sell it back. Keep it, and after you have 4-5 years of programming experience come back and read it. You will love it.
Rating: 
Summary: SICP is the WORST
Review: This has got to be the worst, most boring computer book I've ever read. The authors managed to gather the dullest material possible and present it in a very lifeless way. I had to get this book for the course (also very boring) and threw it away afterwards because no one would buy it back from me. If you love this book...you'll probably make a great hypnotist...so would the authors.
Rating:
Summary: Two cultures
Review: The phrase 'two cultures' is usually used to describe the gap of understanding between the arts and sciences but reading the previous reviews it seems we have two cultures in the programming community. I think this division is between those who view programming as a pragmatic activity and those who also see the beauty of the underlying mathematical ideas. I agree entirely with the previous reviewers who say this book has no practical point, for 99.9% of programming they are right. BUT they are missing the point big time. The ideas expressed in this book are beautiful and interesting and that is the point. The vast majority of programming books are workaday volumes with no more aesthetics than Roget's thesaurus. This is all the more reason to treasure this unique book. In summary if you're mathematically inclined programmer and you're prepared to exercise your brain then this book will give great pleasure.
Rating:
Summary: This isn't a fun read
Review: Besides the heavy and dull material (which may not be that bad at all) this book has an unfriendly style, as if the authors are trying to elevate themselves above the crowd, instead of teach something. I won't recommend this text even to my enemies.
Rating:
Summary: Utter cr*p
Review: Try my SICP simulator. Close your eyes and have someone kick you in the teeth. This will be a good approximation to how you'll feel when readint this book. Nothing makes sense. It's not the material that's tough, it's the authors' dull and pedantic style, and total lack of consideration for the needs of the student.
Rating:
Summary: This isn't for kiddies looking for an easy ride
Review: I first encountered SICP (1st edition) as a computer science student in the mid 80's. I would consider this book to be the single most significant influence on my development as a programmer, even though I never used it in a course. This is one of the few programming texts out there that attempts to go to the roots of computer science. Yes, the examples are difficult to work out, but they're worth it. If you are looking for any easy "A" in your CS class, then avoid this book. If you are interested in programming as an actual intellectual discipline, as opposed to something you just hack until it compiles, then check out SICP.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent book for everyone
Review: SICP is a book not only teach beginning programming, but to show experienced programmers that there are always "other ways to do things." This magical blue book might include confusing explanations but the lessons,algorithims,and thinking skills learned from Abelson's and Sussman's discussions on abstarction are applicable beyond programming to thought in general. Don't let its mathematical topics confuse you, think outside the box.
Rating:
Summary: crap
Review: Buying this book was a big mistake on my part. I read some positive reviews here and hoped maybe to give the title a try, see what the excitement is all about. Now I see there is absolutely nothing interesting here. Just a couple of bored MIT professors trying to teach extremely boring and pointless concepts. In fact, I'm willing to bet that some of the issues discussed are probably interesting problems in themselves, but you can't tell that from the book. It's just too dry and manages to put me to sleep after just 5 pages of reading.
Rating:
Summary: Not terribly fun
Review: This book is a bad experience. The authors make no attempt to explain anything, but instead cram the book with many confusing concepts and without any teaching effort, try to make you see the "beauty of it all". This book should NOT be read by every self respecting programmer. It'll only be a waste of your time.
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