Rating: 
Summary: For those who want to know... Why?
Review: A masterful history of C++ from a personal perspective. I prefer this text to Stroustrup's "the C++ Programming Language". When one understands the philosophy of the creator the creation seems to fall into a clearer view.
Rating:
Summary: A superb book for all levels
Review: As a beginner in C++ design and programming, Dr. Stroustrup unique and inside perspective on the history behind the code really helped me to understand why decisions were made. Dr. Stroustrup's book also reveals some of his personal views on life, computers and programming. It is easy to see why C++ is like it is. An excellent choice for both C++ masters and beginners.
Rating:
Summary: Key Insight
Review: I am a CS student and this is the one C++ book I always carry with me. I find it useful as an explanation to "how and why" C++ is the way it is, and also useful as a reference. The 34 page index, which is about 1/12th of the book, is exhaustive. Almost any aspect of the C++ language is listed along with a description of how it works and why.This book offers key insight into the class layout in memory, vtables, multiple inheritance and the type-checking system. Bjarne talks about what he wanted to add, but was not allowed to. He also explains how C++ was written mostly in C++, which I found weird and amusing. If you're looking for info on the STL, this book has none; this is strictly C++ language related. If you're interested in computer language development or compiler writing, this book would be wonderful. Lastly, if you plan on teaching C++, you should really read this book so you can understand the language well enough to explain it.
Rating:
Summary: Key Insight
Review: I am a CS student and this is the one C++ book I always carry with me. I find it useful as an explanation to "how and why" C++ is the way it is, and also useful as a reference. The 34 page index, which is about 1/12th of the book, is exhaustive. Almost any aspect of the C++ language is listed along with a description of how it works and why. This book offers key insight into the class layout in memory, vtables, multiple inheritance and the type-checking system. Bjarne talks about what he wanted to add, but was not allowed to. He also explains how C++ was written mostly in C++, which I found weird and amusing. If you're looking for info on the STL, this book has none; this is strictly C++ language related. If you're interested in computer language development or compiler writing, this book would be wonderful. Lastly, if you plan on teaching C++, you should really read this book so you can understand the language well enough to explain it.
Rating:
Summary: Key Insight
Review: I am a CS student and this is the one C++ book I always carry with me. I find it useful as an explanation to "how and why" C++ is the way it is, and also useful as a reference. The 34 page index, which is about 1/12th of the book, is exhaustive. Almost any aspect of the C++ language is listed along with a description of how it works and why. This book offers key insight into the class layout in memory, vtables, multiple inheritance and the type-checking system. Bjarne talks about what he wanted to add, but was not allowed to. He also explains how C++ was written mostly in C++, which I found weird and amusing. If you're looking for info on the STL, this book has none; this is strictly C++ language related. If you're interested in computer language development or compiler writing, this book would be wonderful. Lastly, if you plan on teaching C++, you should really read this book so you can understand the language well enough to explain it.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Insights for C++ programmers, needs updating
Review: I liked this book a lot. The only reason I didn't give it 4 stars is that it would be much more interesting now to hear Stroustrup's perspectives on the ANSI Standard, and particularly his thoughts on the inclusion of STL.
Rating:
Summary: Modeling Engineer
Review: I was taking a graduate class for beginning C++ students. The book gave a wonderful history of C++. I would recommend for students who have not taken C or C+ to understand the scope of how powerful C++ is. This is also a good book for the introduction to object-oriented programming.
Rating: 
Summary: For the Novice C++ Programmer
Review: I was taking a graduate class for beginning C++ students. The book gave a wonderful history of C++. I would recommend for students who have not taken C or C+ to understand the scope of how powerful C++ is. This is also a good book for the introduction to object-oriented programming.
Rating:
Summary: Good for Seasoned Programmer Learning C++
Review: I've programmed in several languages, and use programming regularly in my research (mostly artificial life simuations, statistical programming, and the like). I resisted learning C++ because (a) the implementations have been really awful, as compare with Visual Basic and Delphi, and (b) it's a complicated language. But this summer I bit the bullet, and I've started using C++ in my work. What changed my mind was the Borland C++ Builder compiler, which makes it easy to write applications. I found that C++ was as complex as I expected, but quite fast and versatile. This book really helped me understand the design philosophy of C++, so I feel much more at home with the language than I did just a few days ago. I can't imagine that this book would be good for a beginner at programming, though, since it throws around computer science terminology quite freely (early binding, late binding, for instance), and without much explanation.
Rating:
Summary: What a great book!
Review: If you're a serious C++ programmer, and love to read about interesting technical stuff, this book is great. You won't learn C++, and you probably won't become a better C++ programmer, but you'll have a much greater appreciation for why C++ is the way it is. Why the features that is has were added, and why the features that it doesn't have were rejected, and why certain details came out the way they did.
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