Rating: 
Summary: Great Author, great primer
Review: For an introduction to C++, I really think this is a great book. While no primer can be all things to all people, I think for most folks who have little programming experience at all or little C++ experience, this is a good choice.Make no mistake, C++ is a very complex language and a person could spend his or her whole programming life learning different ways to solve problems with it. What I like about Jesse Liberty's approach is that he assumes no prior programming experience. He does a good job of explaining the basics and providing examples to work on. Another thing to consider is that different people learn in different ways, and J.L. has written another book called "C++ from Scratch". It takes the approach of diving into the middle of a programming problem with an experienced programmer and learning from doing. I have both books and they both have taught me a lot. With something as complex as C++, no one book can teach you everything. From my perspective, if you're a relative new comer to programming or new to the C++ language this is a great book.
Rating: 
Summary: lack of thorough explanations. not a good intro to OOP.
Review: Huh? that pretty much sums up my whole experience with the Sam's programming series. lack of thorough explanations. not a good intro to OOP. get Ivor Horton's book instead.
Rating: 
Summary: Good explanations, weak examples
Review: As an experienced C programmer I found Mr. Liberty's explanantions of new concepts to be very clear, concise and helpful. However, his code examples left a lot to be desired. After his introduction of linked lists, with their frequent reappearances in the book, code examples became long-winded and unclear, with most of the code having little or nothing to do with the concept being learned. For a beginning programmer, this could only be confusing. The book, on a whole, is well-written and I was able to learn a lot from it. However, I wouldn't recommend it to a reader with no programming experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent for the beginner/intermediate; a good reference
Review: I read this book after using C for three years and dabbling with C++. From cover to cover the prose is well written, easily understandable and illustrated by just the right amount of code. Unlike most books of this genre, Teach yourself C++ in 21 days hits the mark in balancing the introduction of new concepts and giving the reader detail that they can use without laboring the point or waffling. Furthermore, if you know something already you can easily skip a few pages and move on to something new; information is easy to find. One really welcome feature that I would not underestimate the value of is that at the end of every week there is an extended review of covered concepts in the form of a larger code listing. This really gives an insight into what writing code is like and is a very nice touch. I would recommend this book as a starting point for anyone interested in learning to program C++. The introduction to C at the start of the book is clear and sufficient to then delve into the features of the C++ language with a good background. It goes without saying that the index is also well done, making this a good all round book for the core of the language. There is a short chapter towards the end on OO design to set you on the right path this is augmented by mention of a few of the Standard Template Library features. This will remain on my shelf, next to Stroustrup and within arms reach for some time to come! If you already know C++ and are looking for something on STL, OO design or prefer reading really terse books (K&R style) then obviously this book is not for you. If however you need a well thought out syntax reference that is both concise, illustrated with good code examples, but understandable then add this to your shelf!
Rating:
Summary: excellent foundation, with templates & uml
Review: my experience is the following: I have been a C/C++ programmer for 11 years.
my reason for purchasing the book is the following: When I went on interviews lately, I realized that my experience was more C then C++, and I had no UML or template (stl) knowledge. (I DIDNT EVEN USE INHERITANCE!). This is what happens when we keep our noses to the grindstone for too long. I purchased this book fully expecting to return it, but will not (it's an inexpensive great book). I am almost ashamed to admit, I quickly purused most chapters but took three pages of notes, of things I did not fully know.
You should expect the following from this book:
* An up to date intro to C++ (only experience will make you a C++ master).
* To spend beween 21 and 63 hours to read the entire book. (see the sams note above that some lessons may take you 3 hours).
Remember that C++ is still evolving, and this book can provide you with an uptodate intro, for a sawbuck and change. I am truely impressed by this book, and it's value. When I have no more use for the book, I may consider donating it to the local library, as it's probally timeless in some respects.
As for UML, it is the greatest thing to happen to C++ since the Booch notation was the flavor of the month (some sarcasm there). Seriously, UML is a must know, because the UML tools allow easy integration into your language of choice right now. Rational Rose has created documentation, that prototypes your code for you, the world is a great place right now!. This book, gives you an intro of all the UML you'll need to know to start using it right away.
As for templates, they are just wonderful. This is one of the coolest things to happen to C++.
One of the other reviewers refered to the beast of C++, yes, C/C++ is a beast, but it is a language like most others. When you break down the walls of "i'm an z programmer", then you will realize that your mental skills transend the language, and your a problem solver, with debugging skills. C++ is a beast, and this book will allow you to pick up the foundation in 21 courses! nbg.
Rating: 
Summary: AAARRGGGHHH! Don't buy it!
Review: With the nice title, one would expect this book to be a beginner, "from scratch" book. Not so. Don't be fooled by the title, folks. First, in 21 days is a lie. The first few chapters you can do in a day, but as the chapters go on, the material gets more complex and difficult. If you want to do the exercises and check your answers, don't count on a day's worth of material in the outline to take just a day. Second, the editing is poor. Computer coding/programming requires excessive exactitude and attention to detail. Leave out just one character or switch one character for another and you will get a compile error. Yet example after example in this book contains errors that will give you compile errors. If you diligently retype the book's examples, expect to find yourself finding for and correcting errors / typos. Third, the book explains concepts poorly. The author uses a mechanical "this is how you code it" approach to his work. Thus, he often fails to adequately or intuitively or fully and satisfactorily explain important concepts. Maybe because he's focused on getting his material accross in hopefully just 21 days, he pays only slight homage to such important background, but the result is to increase confusion. I read an accounting text once to learn accounting. The authors explained debits and credits mechanically but also explained how the debit/credit system came into being. By merely adding that extra explanation (which was that debits and credits was basically an arbitrary decision used to build a routine, meaningful accounting system), I had a much better understanding of debits and credits. But don't look for such basic explanations of the whys of C++ mechanics in the Teach Yourself C++ in 21 Days book. They would help, but they are not there. For example, the chapter on classes gives great mechanical detail on the subject but never explains well why classes came into being or how to use them to solve real world problems. Fourth, examples used are often unhelpful. In the classes chapter, the author flys through many classes concepts quickly. Thus, you find yourself with many new concepts not necessarily mastered. While you are trying to sort out what a class is, the author ends the chapter with a very complex and confusing class within class explanation and a horribly complex set of code examples using rectangles. The result is to blow your mind because the complexity step up from the class examples used prior to the final example is about 10 to 20 times -- 10 or 20 times more complex than the prior examples is just too big of a jump forward for a new concept....
Rating:
Summary: A great book
Review: I found that my programing class seemed slow and incomplete. So I went out and purshased this book and found that not only did it fill in all the gaps that a high school programing teacher left out, it took me farther than the 2 years of programing classes at high school did. (A great read even if it takes you closer to 3 monthes to read) I got an A and am currently helping the teacher with prog 1.
Rating:
Summary: Buy This Book!
Review: This was an excellent book! I am a beginner at C++ and this was my first book, after reading the first few chapters I understood what C++ was and what it requires. Before I bought this book I searched the web day and night for a descent compiler but to my surprise there were some compilers in the CD's that worked fine. I know HTML and Perl but this book didn't require any of those skills. This is an excellent book for beginners and an even better review for advanced users.
Rating:
Summary: The Beginning C++ Book To Use!
Review: Mr. Liberty is one of the foremost authorities on C++ and at the same time is an excellent, methodical teacher. This is the book to work with if you're just starting out. As with most disciplines, everything builds on the basics, so go slow and make sure you understand all of the material before moving on. All of the basics are covered most thoroughly and are very understandable. This book will prepare you to go in any direction as a C++ programmer, be it Windows, Linux, Visual C++, etc... In fact there's now a Linux version available. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: An excellent book without the JARGON!
Review: This book has really hepled me in my game programming. (Ya see, I also have Window Game Programming For Dummies ). Now my games are coming along great thanx to this easy to read C++ book. Most books claim to be for begginers, but most assume the reader has a programming history already. This book does not. I'd reccomend it whole heartidly for anyone who wants to leanr how to program in the final ANSI standard of C++.
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