Rating: 
Summary: Computer Science Student: Simply the Greatest C++ book ever
Review: I make no bones about it: if you want to learn a programming language such as C++ you must be very dedicated and serious about doing so. As much as ANY book claims otherwise, this is not a simple task. However, Jesse Liberty's Teach Yourself C++ in 21 Days comes closest to making this long journey a great deal shorter and easier to understand. In programming, obviously, knowledge is power. Mr. Liberty takes no shortcuts in outlining the foundation of an excellent C++ programmer. There is a point where too much knowledge can overwhelm, and this book rarely, if ever, does this. Learning a computer language can be overwhelming in itself; a book such as this is supposed to provide clarity. Teach Yourself succeeds with flying colors covering mandatory basics such as operator overloading, templates, and polymorphism. All of this with colorful analogies that make programming an easier to understand experience. How a few reviewers came up with a one star rating for this book is baffling. I feel those persons to be looking for some kind of miracle to turn them into instant C++ authorities. I hope they can read this next paragraph and learn a few things. Is programming difficult? Yes. There is not another book that will make it any easier. This book is like a college course rolled up in 21 long chapters. I'm not talking about a college course you sit there and just try and pay attention to, I'm saying to take notes, participate, and re-read the material if you need to. This book has been a total inspiration and it's been with me through the thick and thin of the pages of code only to come out shining. Do NOT pass this up.
Rating: 
Summary: very good book but errors are frustrating
Review: I found this book very easy to understand and very informative. The author's style is pleasant, clear, and interesting. However, I also have a lot of experience programming, so it's hard for me to say if a brand new programmer would also find it simple to understand.What drives me crazy is the errors. I spent about three times as long studying the errors than learning the concepts. Every time I saw something in the code that I didn't understand, I spent 10 minutes trying to figure out if it was a flaw in my understanding or a flaw in the book. What a waste of time. And the errata doesn't even start to cover all the errors. It's a crying shame that such a excellent book is destroyed by silly, careless typos. Can someone explain to me why so many "technical" books suffer from this problem??
Rating: 
Summary: Not for Beginners
Review: I am trying to learn the language and this is my second C++ book. My reccomendation is to look for another book. The author goes from beginner tutorials to advanced concepts before the week is even out and is left you hanging discussing larger concepts to grasp. By the end of the second week I was left clueless. Not to mention that this book is also riddled with bad code examples that don't work.
Rating:
Summary: Covers all the concepts, but too superficial to be useful
Review: As many have mentioned here, C++ is a big, hairy, powerful language, and it's unrealistic to think that most people can use it effectively after 21 days. C++ combines an unusually complicated, multiple inheritance object model with C's pointer mayhem. _C++ in 21 Days_ is inconsistent. Pointers are given fairly superficial coverage. Objects, on the other hand, are given very solid coverage in this book, and the author writes well. Non-experienced programmers won't get a lot out of the last week of this book (structured error handling, namespaces, templates, the relatively ignored Standard Template Library), and are liable to be rather put off by it. Very experienced programmers will be frustrated that the examples and problems are too simple and the author doesn't point out major pitfalls in applying C++ to complex systems. I came to this book knowing C (mostly) and Java (barely). After this book thoroughly, I tried to work with someone else's C++ code (related to networking, which I know well)...and found that I was entirely lost. I borrowed a stack of C++ books from friends, and found that, having read with a little more depth, working in C++ became much easier. My favorite C++ book, for those who are looking for something written as a tutorial but complete enough to be a reference, is Stanley B. Lippman's 'C++ Primer'. I don't know anyone who knows C++ well who has only 1 book on it, but Lippman's book is as close as I've seen.
Rating:
Summary: THIS IS A GREAT BOOK TO START WITH.
Review: Given that 'teaching' one's self a computer programming language is a daunting task anyway, Jesse Liberty's book takes a clean and understandable approach to the subject, broken down in a way that is convenient and productive. I bought this book with no programming experience (except for BASIC in high school) and have been working my way through the excercises for a while now. Although, the idea of learning this stuff in 21 Days is a fantasy, those who are willing to actually take the time to understand each chapter (it's taken me over a year of part-time study to get past Week 1) it's fantastic. If you persevere, somewhere around the end of Week 1 you will begin to feel the awesome power that is possible with your newfound and fledgling skill. I am excited and encouraged to finish the book (even if it takes me a couple more years) because it is a solid foundation for any would-be programmer, and a low-cost alternative to the University setting. You can be sure that when I'm done with C++, I will look to Jesse Liberty for "Teach Yourself C# in 21 Days". I highly recommend this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Informative, but somewhat difficult
Review: The book covers all the bases well, but the examples given jump in difficulty very quickly when they could have been simplified more, which combined with actual c++ errors makes for a fair bit of confusion.
Rating:
Summary: Good instruction, but lacks one KEY element....
Review: I like the general flow - it allows a somewhat experienced programmer like myself to learn this language. HOWEVER, to get started (compiling, linking, etc.) the reader is on his/her own. Once beyond that step, it's a good start.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: this book was great at teaching you the stuff needed to make your first C++ programs and get into more advanced fetures. the book sometimes get a little boring and could talk about some other importand fuctions that it left out, but all-in-all it was a pretty good book that i dont regret buying
Rating:
Summary: Reasonable Introduction To VC++ With Major Drwabacks
Review: I was familiar with C++ prior to using this book to code in VC++ for the first time. The examples within offer a good range of the features a user is likely to use. However, the book falls short in two major areas. The first is that the examples in the book are littered with mistakes and typos which means that these examples won't execute unless you have sufficient knowledge on how to correct them, which is unlikely. The second is that whilst the book tells you how to do certain things, it doesn't really go into enough detail as to why you do them; the concepts and wider contexts are not explored.
Whilst you could forgive the author for the level of detail he chooses to put in the book, there is no excuse for the amount of typos and errors in the tutorials - he should have had at least one independent person with little knowledge of VC++ to try out the book, then he would have spotted the mistakes before the book went on the market.
To summarise, this book could teach you VC++ in 21 days if you didn't spend half your time trying to figure out why the programs don't actually work.
Rating: 
Summary: I hated this
Review: This book is full of code that doesn't teach you any concepts. Liberty is a poor writer. Don't buy this book or you will be sorry. It is a total waste of time.
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