Rating: 
Summary: "it does not cover developer exam " :(
Review: Most people have not mention , It covers only programmer exam not developr exam.Since other books cover Programmer & Developer exam , be carefull before you buy this book. In particular those people who are working for developer exam, must be aware of the limitations. Also it cover lot of topics not required for the programmer exam like java documentation.
Rating: 
Summary: It's the best you can get currently
Review: I passed the Sun Certified Java Programmer exam so that I'd like to share some experiences with you. There were 2 books that I used to prepare for the exam, which were "A programmer's guide to Java Certification" written by Khalid Mughal and "Java 2 exam cram" written by Bill Brogden. I would say this book "A programmer's guide to Java Certification", of course, covers all the topics and details that a Java programmer needs to know in order to pass the exam. However, the focus and style of the practice exams included are somehow different from the questions in the real one. At least, you will get the feeling what the real exam looks like. The "Java 2 exam cram" is totally on the opposite. It has simple (some may be important) concepts in it, but the practice exams included can be really taken well use of and hit the points. Combined with these two books, you will have a strong confidence in getting the certificate.Good luck, guys!
Rating: 
Summary: Owe my Java Cert to this one!
Review: Very good book! Way more coverage than is probably needed for the Programmer's exam, but it made me a better Java Programmer!! One should read this book even if the endpoint is not the certification. The language is not very lucid, but the pages are crammed with solid concepts and simple examples to illustrate the nuances. Highly recommended for an academic understanding of the Java language. It's guaranteed to make you a better programmer (at least much smarter than your colleagues!). Good luck!
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Summary: Best book for getting certified
Review: Just passed the test with an 88. The only cert books I used in preparation were "The Java 2 Exam Cram", and this book. Now that I am certified the "cram" book sits on a shelf, but this book follows me to work and back. It is much more than a certification preparation book, and I would say the questions the author gives in his review sections and in the back of the book are on par, if not harder, than the actual exam questions. Take your time, read this book, work the questions and examples - you will pass.
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Summary: Just what I wanted
Review: I liked the book for it's technical style: minimal yet sufficient explanations, concepts stated clearly and in a logical way, examples concise and imformative, no stupid colorfull pictures to take space and to distract you. Doing all the excersises would, of course, be usefull, but I had no time for it. Reading through the book and going three times through all the multiple questions with analysing errors was enough for me to pass with lots of extra %s. Advanced topics, like Threads, AWT and I/O represented quite sufficiently. I actually missed less of these compared to fundamental things, like syntax and flow control. My real test had no Swing, Applet or Javadoc questions. Seems like these were not in the program. Yet it was right to include these in the book. I would not worry in case Java people would suddenly add these before my test day. Thanks again to Mughal and Rasmussen
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Summary: Excellent Book for SCJP Preparation
Review: This is a fantastic book. It uses UML notation. The code samples in the book are excellent. The questions in this book really test how well you know the topics. They are quite hard (most of them harder than the real exam). The exam engine is also fantastic. It gives you a good feel of what the actual exam is like (though the sample exam in this book is harder). I actually failed the sample exam, but still managed to get 79% in the real exam. Most of the people who used this book actually got higher scores. :-) Compare to the book by Simon Roberts (The Complete Java 2 Certification Study Guide), this book is much harder. Simon's book is much easier to understand, but the questions in that book are too easy compared to this book (or the actual exam). If you know everything covered in this book, it would be "difficult" for you to fail the SCJP exam.
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Summary: Pass Sun Certified Java Programmer
Review: I am an international student from Taiwan with Bachelor of Business Administration and now taking MS in CIS in Baruch College. After I spent one month and three weeks reading the book twice (only this book), I passed SCJP with 88% score recently. I think this book is very excellent. It is well organized and convey the concepts very clearly. I strongly recommand this book and want to say "thank you" to the authors. Hope you pass it with this book as easiliy as I.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good for SCJP
Review: This book is very good, specially the Questions discussed at end of each chapter. It helped me a great deal to get the SCJP certification. Very precise, to the point and comprehensive.
Rating:
Summary: Clear and exhaustive treatment of language fundamentals
Review: When I logged on to amazon and saw a score of 4+ after 90-some reviews, I knew I could not go very wrong with this book. And indeed the credentials are well deserved. Right from the third chapter onward, you realize the amount of detail that is packed in the book. But not just detail after endless detail, either. I have to say I have not come across a book with such searching review questions. These supplement the learning process very well, form the point of view of the exam. You really know the material well when you are able to answer the questions correctly . Often enough , they make you aware of subtleties that are not apparent at a first reading. The exam at the end of the book is way too hard compared to the actual exam. But I'm glad I did it anyway . I found that one of the trick questions actually appeared on the exam in an altered form. No one book however is enough for this exam. I would recommend reading this book cover-to-cover , once, and then once more, and follow up with Bill Brogden's Exam Cram book. And I can't stress enough the need to practice mock exams - these abound on the net and are quite indispensable in my opinion. In short, I would say this book is largely (80 percent or more ) responsible for my 93 % score. Good luck !
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Summary: I would have given it 5 stars...
Review: This book is really well done, quite thorough, and if I were using it for a text in a college class, I would give it 5 stars without hesitation. However, as related to the SCJP2 test (which I have passed with an 84%) I would say that it is overkill. In fact, you can skip about 4 entire chapters in the book (Swing, Graphics, Applets, and JavaDoc). So I guess what I'm saying is that there is already enough material required for the test, that more material just muddies the water. However, my review is sounding quite negative, and that's not my intention. I would still recommend this book for preparation for the test. It is well written, the sample tests throughout the chapters and at the end of the book are very good (and more difficult than the real exam). I would also strongly recommend this book for people who are just beginning to learn Java. For people who already know Java and want to pass the SCJP test, I would recommend this book, but I might also recommend the Exam Cram instead, since it is more focused. In any case, I believe that mock exams, coupled with a good book, are the key to passing. Such products as JQ+, are excellent preparation, combined with the text. I believe that the text alone, is not sufficient preparation.
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