Rating: 
Summary: great book for SCJP preparation
Review: I would suggest this book to anyone preparing for SCJP. I used the first edition of this book and practiced mock exams using some commercial simulators. Today I cleared SCJP with 85%.
Rating:
Summary: Its tough questions will help you pass and be an expert too
Review: I would recommend this book for the experienced Java programmer who not only wants to pass the exam, but also wants to master the language. Some advise for beginner java programmer: avoid this book. Learn to program Java for a good while before tackling this book.First, the authors are university professors. So the book reads like a text book: very dry but packed with a lot of info. The authors state in the book that they cover each topic in a detailed fashion, in order for the reader to master the langauge. In theory, if you master the language, then you should be able to pass the exam quite easily. Well, I definitely can say that I am not a master of the language after reviewing the relevant chapters and after programming in Java for two years, but I can say that this book prepared me to pass the exam, which occurred a few weeks ago. In the process, my knowledge of Java has been greatly enhanced by this book too. The book is very comprehensive. There are 18 chapters. If you are planning to take the Programmers Exam, then you should concentrate on the first eleven chapters. The later chapters are on awt, swing, io, event handling, which are on Developers exam. The book does not have a chapter on assertions, but you probably can go to Mughal's website to download his chapter on Assertions. The questions are really, really tough. I even missed many of the questions after a second round in reviewing the 11 chapters. However, after reviewing the topics and questions in the book, you will not be surprised by any of the questions on the actual exam. The book gives a lot of details about Java which some of it may never ever appear on the exam. But then again, you will be on the road in becoming an expert of the language. Bottom line: if you want a book for the minimum knowledge to pass the exam, then forget this book. If you want become an expert on the language and pass the exam easily, then this book is for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Broad, unfocused, not up to date
Review: It's not a bad book. There are a gazillion Java books out there. This one tries to cover too many bases. It's not sure if it's a certification book or a text book or some sort of a reference book. If you are trying to study for the exam I would recommend a book that really focuses on the exam. It's hard enough (the exam) without learning a bunch of stuff that you're not going to get tested on! The other thing is it covers the old test not the new 1.4 test.
Rating:
Summary: Imprecise Writing Mars an Otherwise Excellent Book.
Review: This book is useful because it has many questions that dwell on subtle points of the language, so if you need to prepare for a java test or interview it is worth getting. Be warned though that there are more than a few places in the book (both text and questions) where the writing is fuzzy and imprecise (and not always using standard english). This can be a problem when the theme of the book is 'subtle details.' The things that distracted from the content of the books were things like using words like "composed," "comprised," and "comprises" not always correctly. The other problem was that things like pronoun references (one answer choice in the questions: "Objects will not be destroyed until they have no references to them." I had no idea who 'they' referred to.) There are a few topics that "The Java Programming Language" By Gosling describes much more clearly, albeit with fewer examples, so be sure to have a copy of that on hand when you work with this book. The sad thing is that this could have easily been a 5* book for me if the authors have worked with a copy editor. The core of the book is useful, but the writing at times made it appear as if the authors didn't take enough care, and caused me to doubt whether all of their question/answer pairs were strictly correct.
Rating:
Summary: You don't need other book to pass the exam
Review: If you read all chapters, lets say one a day, and answer the review questions you should pass the exam with no problems. A day before the real exam I answered the mock exam that comes with the book and I got 34/59 that is 57% which is a failling result. However in the real exam I got 58/59 so if you pass the mock exam you should not have problems passing the real exam. NOTE: I used this book to study for the exam for JAVA 2 platform v 1.2 and there is a newer exam for the JAVA 2 Platform v 1.4. If you want to study for the newer exam maybe you need another book.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a bad choice for studying for the 1.2 exam
Review: I had just passed the Sun Certified Programmer for the Java 1.4 Platform exam (with a score of 80%), and I want to help prospective test takers in finding the "right" Java study guide. I was bewildered by the number of books available, and I had to try many of them before I settled on the right one. Here are my short reviews for each of the major Java study guides: "Sun Certified Programmer & Developer for Java 2 Study Guide" by Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates (five stars): I felt this book was the best among all the Java study guides. Both the authors were responsible for the Java certification exam's development, and the practice questions are *very* similar to the actual exam. The authors also cover exactly what will be on the 1.4 exam, pointing out potential topics, questions, and pitfalls. I can't recommend this book highly enough. "A Programmer's Guide to Java Certification" by Khalid Mughal and Rolf Rasmussen (four stars): This is a good choice if you plan on taking the 1.2 exam. The book also has a dual purpose of teaching Java and sometimes goes beyond the actual scope of the exam, but it is nonetheless excellent. However, as the title suggests, this isn't the book for you if you don't have any programming experience. Also, the book's practice questions are much, much harder than the actual exam. "Complete Java 2 Certification Study Guide (3rd Edition)" by Philip Heller and Simon Roberts (two stars): This was the most disappointing book of all. I don't know why so many people swear by it, but the book appeared to have been rushed into production. Many of the errors and typos have been updated in the book's second printing, but the book's coverage of topics is quite weak. Lastly, the practice questions were not only too easy, but they don't look very similar to how questions look on the real test. It's not a terrible book (many people appear to have passed the exam with just this book), but there are better options. "Java 2 Exam Prep" by Bill Brodgen (three stars): This compact study guide isn't a bad choice for prospective test takers with a good Java foundation. It covers all the exam's topics succinctly, but as another reviewer noted, it should not be your primary study guide. I personally did not find the book particularly useful. Lastly, sign up for Sun's ePractice practice exams. You'll get three sample tests, and they will help you prepare for the exam by showing you how the questions will look and what type of questions they will ask. I didn't like the idea of spending the extra money, but the practice exams definitely helped me prepare for the real thing.
Rating:
Summary: A lot of information and made me work very hard
Review: I am not sure that I am the best person to review this but I am perhaps representative of the people who also read the book and take the test so I will tell my experience. I had to work very very hard to use this book but I think in the end I had a good learning level after I finished the book. The test was harder than the real test so I am grateful for that and I know that the book made me work very hard so that was a good thing and I passed though not very high but I have not programmed Java for a long time so it was maybe me that was not as good as I should be when I started. What I mean to say is, it is a good effort that you will do when you use this book and it is like the effort to take the test.
Rating: 
Summary: Same old professorial approach
Review: Someday I will find out why the impenetrable "you will understand what I'm saying only if you already understand what I'm saying" approach to technical books is so widespread when it's so ineffective. This book makes you struggle to figure out what the authors are talking about, and by the time you finish, it's time for bed and you haven't learned anything yet. Having discarded this book, I've just started looking at the red and blue Osborne Certification Press book by Sierra and Bates. I like it a lot better than Mughal, it's more like normal humans talking, and the explanations are better and quicker to grasp.
Rating:
Summary: wont help a beginner
Review: I find this book too hard to follow. After reading every two pages, I am refering some other book also to understand the same topic. Concepts are not sufficiently explained.
Rating:
Summary: great book
Review: I used this book to pass the exam recently(I have to admit that I also took a bunch of on-line mock exams). But the book is great and covers all the topics in the exam. The questions at the end of each chapter are harder than what you will get in the real exam! When I took the sample exam at the end, I failed! A lot of tricky questions. If you can pass this exam, you will definitely pass the real one!
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