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Rating: 
Summary: A great idea but implementation suffers ....
Review: I bought this book to refresh my C++ knowledge. It does a good job on this. I think this book is not good for newbies in programming, as some programming concept teached in this book will confuse them. I couldn't give a higher rating as there were too many typos and some small inaccurate statements that I found in this book. But I like the idea of this book. If you want to buy only one book to learn C++, then this isn't the right book for you.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the worst ever. Good DoorStop
Review: I like this book, I really do. I love the idea of working on one project through the entire book. Since I'd like to program games at some point, the project described in the book (a game based on Mastermind) is one that has some relevance to me. There are problems however:1) Not completely appropriate for the target audience - Jesse Liberty at least implies that this book will teach you enough to learn C++ and be able to program in it. This is misleading. In the beginning, things move smoothly, concepts are explained and understood. As time goes on, more concepts are added and _usually_ incorporated into the growing project. This is where things get difficult. I much prefer understanding concepts in programs designed specifically to show how these concepts work before including them in a larger, 'holistic' project. Yes, he does this in some cases, but usually I find these cases inappropriate. Linked lists is one example he uses, and for the true beginner (or even one with programming experience) this is not an easy subject without some build-up. 2) Disjointed - The book is sort of like the 'X-Files' which has its 'Mythology' episodes (the ones that contribute to the overall story arc) and the 'One shot' episodes (monsters, weird occurrences unconnected with anything else). In the book you have the main project and every so often Liberty will jump off to the side to discuss a feature of C++ in some detail (linked list mentioned above). The effect is a disjointed one, often breaking the flow of understanding. 3) Restrictive - Probably my biggest worry is the effect on programming practices to a newcomer to C++. The concepts are taught, not with an eye for overall understanding, but rather in how they can be used for one very specific program. As new concepts are learned, often times the result is that a part of the project will be rewritten to use the new concept, leading to the impression that the earlier concept was obsolete and really has no purpose. I prefer being told not only how to use a concept, but when and where the concept is useful, what pitfalls there are, and see a few examples that show different ways to use the concept. Otherwise it's too easy to have tunnel vision, seeing the concept as only useful in limited circumstances. So... I said I liked this book, didn't I? I do, but with a very specific recommendation for people who buy it. Get both a general Primer (I recommend the Waite Group's C++ Primer Plus) and an intermediate text (Thinking in C++ is the one I recommend). Learn C++ using those and then read C++ from Scratch to see how many different concepts can fit together. This book would probably have gotten 4 stars if I had not felt it inappropriate for its target audience.
Rating: 
Summary: It's a good companion book...
Review: I've found that this book is a good companion, but it really cannot stand on its own. If you've been working through some of the dry texts that have been written to teach C++ and want to actually learn how to create something, it's a good resource. It names and very briefly describes most of the most important concepts in the language so you better have some other C++ reference texts and books handy or you'll get lost quick. I found the typos to be a little annoying - but after you reach a certain point in your understanding of C++, they almost act like quizzes ("Hey - that ASSERT is declared wrong!") to see if you're really paying attention.
Rating:
Summary: It's a good companion book...
Review: I've found that this book is a good companion, but it really cannot stand on its own. If you've been working through some of the dry texts that have been written to teach C++ and want to actually learn how to create something, it's a good resource. It names and very briefly describes most of the most important concepts in the language so you better have some other C++ reference texts and books handy or you'll get lost quick. I found the typos to be a little annoying - but after you reach a certain point in your understanding of C++, they almost act like quizzes ("Hey - that ASSERT is declared wrong!") to see if you're really paying attention.
Rating:
Summary: Sounds like a great concept, but overwhelming for novices.
Review: It sounded like a good book when It first came out. I bought it before there were any other reviews of the book. Well, when I first used the compiler that came with the book, it kept crashing when debugging if I made a mistake in the code. So I had to go out and buy MS VC++ 6.0 As I was folloing the examples, it was quite overwhelming after the first few examples. Mr. Liberty just kept pilling on more and more facts about the code without really going over what he taught. The code examples just kept getting longer and longer, so I figured I wouldnt be able to stay with it so I gave up and sold the compiler. I thought it was just me. Now I see all the other reviews on this book. I wish I would have choosen another book. I dont think this form of teaching works reading it from a book. It probably would work in person.
Rating:
Summary: One of the worst ever. Good DoorStop
Review: Jesse Liberty has many good books. Not this one though. The whole book is abot writing some stupid game and you won't learn a thing about C++ Must avoid
Rating:
Summary: Mostly Scratch ....
Review: The book has a sound concept. Use 1 example to develop C++ skills. The layout and presentation is clear and well thought out. However, The material on the CD-ROM does not check with the listings in the text. Most of the examples will not compile making this effort an extremely poor one. This book is typical of a failed IT project. The one spot of text that is immediately useful is appendix a - which covers a discussion of number systems. This however is only indirectly relevant to a book that is suppose to cover the C++ specification.
Rating:
Summary: Beware greenhorns: Typos + listing errors = Confusion
Review: The book seemed to have a good concept: learn C++ from the very beginning by building an application (in this case, a terminal mode game). It starts out nicely in the beginning chapters but then frustrates the reader with typos in the listings that prevents them from compiling. Add to that file names for the source code on the companion CD-ROM that don't match the names in the text and the results are a very dissappointing learning experience.
Rating:
Summary: A good companion text -- kinda indispensable in fact.
Review: This is not the book to get if you have no C++ experience and no other C++ books, in my opinion. It is not comprehensive. By the second chapter, the terminology and concepts will probably be overwhelming to someone with zero C/C++ background -- not because the book itself is not well written, but because I don't think it's possible to introduce C++ in this manner within such a brief format. A moderate proportion of the 400 or so pages is occupied by source code samples so space for explanation is not as expansive as it would appear. I recommend this book for intermediate beginners who have had an introduction to aspects of C/C++ through larger more in-depth books but do not have a good sense of how to take a programming concept and make a working model out of it. This book is innovative in its presentation of C++ as described above. Certain parts could stand to be fleshed out some, but overall it is fun to use. Most of the code worked for me, but there were some rough spots which I am still not clear as to if it is due to the book or with errors in my Microsoft compiler. I would really like to see more books of this type dealing with intermediate level programming projects of larger scale, with more detail in descriptions of methods used. The method of presentation is quite compelling.
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