Rating: 
Summary: This is the best book available for learning Java. (1.2)
Review: 1999 Edition, Java 1.2: If you want to learn Java, get this book and get it now. I wasted my money on 10 other Java books before I bought this one and not ONE of them even came close to getting me to understand the Java language like this book did. It's easy and exciting to read as you learn more and more in each subsequent "how-to" section. If you want a book full of Java applets then buy one of the other 10,000 books out there, or visit a web site. If you want to learn Java, do yourself a favor and go buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Easily Consumed Wisdom
Review: A perfect selection for someone who is an experienced programmer and wants to pick up Java quickly. This book is full of good content, little or no time is wasted while progressing from section to section (incidentally, every paragraph has a section number, which are used throughout the book to cross-reference important points - closest thing to hyperlinking on paper!). This book is definitely geared for someone who wants ground-up Java explained by a programmer to a programmer.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent no-nonsense orientationto Java
Review: A perfect selection for someone who is an experienced programmer and wants to pick up Java quickly. This book is full of good content, little or no time is wasted while progressing from section to section (incidentally, every paragraph has a section number, which are used throughout the book to cross-reference important points - closest thing to hyperlinking on paper!). This book is definitely geared for someone who wants ground-up Java explained by a programmer to a programmer.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: As a C++ programmer of several years, who had to make a fast track change to Java for a complex distributed systems project, I can confidently say that Winston's book really helped. Even the obvious is clearly explained to eliminate any doubts whatsoever. The step by step tutorial style embraced in the book is an excellent idea. What I really like about the book is that the authors pursue a central example theme that gets looked at from several angles and degrees of complexity corresponding to the topic being studied. Winston has proved that he is not only a world class researcher but also an excellent and matter-of-fact oriented teacher. Great Job!Just a minor word of caution though. On To Java is not a complete reference, and it would be foolish to expect it to be one. One has to complement it with the SUN Java documentation and class reference. As an aside, I had looked at "Core Java Vol.1 Fundamentals" first and I am glad I dumped it after just one sitting. I do not think I am ever going to look at any of those SUN sponsored editions again. This one being 742 pages of disorganized material and focus. Perhaps the only redeeming feature is that the authors do sometimes give some useful comparisons between C++ and Java.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent introduction to Java
Review: Basically, what all those 5-star reviewers say is true, but they either didn't really work through the book or they are leaving out some critical information. I found errors in this book and when I tried to report them, the website listed on the back was no longer active and there was no response to emails. Months after reporting the problems, their site still said there were no known errors. Upon reaching the halfway point in the book, I found the project would not run as given in the text. I went to their website (which, like I said, appeared to be abandoned) and found some different code for the chapter I was on, but that wouldn't even compile! Luckily, I also had Geary's Graphic Java book and was able to get past the error using his approach. I felt that errors like this, along with the complete lack of support, were quite unacceptable from a second edition. Now they have a follow-up edition which appears to be simply rewritten for Java 2. The website referenced no longer exists and you now get redirected to Winston's book site, which does not even pretend to support this book! The last update to the known bugs was in 1997!!! I've sent him at least two emails on his errors since then! I also found the segment numbering scheme to be distracting and strange. The "segments" are 1 or 2 paragraph subsections; they are numbered sequentially throughout the book. The author will say "please refer to segment number 238..." and I see this more like a GOTO in programming and therefore a cop-out by authors that didn't want to bother with numbering sections in the normal manner. This is just a personal peeve and I would only take off one star at most for it.
Rating: 
Summary: support for errors is non-existent
Review: Basically, what all those 5-star reviewers say is true, but they either didn't really work through the book or they are leaving out some critical information. I found errors in this book and when I tried to report them, the website listed on the back was no longer active and there was no response to emails. Months after reporting the problems, their site still said there were no known errors. Upon reaching the halfway point in the book, I found the project would not run as given in the text. I went to their website (which, like I said, appeared to be abandoned) and found some different code for the chapter I was on, but that wouldn't even compile! Luckily, I also had Geary's Graphic Java book and was able to get past the error using his approach. I felt that errors like this, along with the complete lack of support, were quite unacceptable from a second edition. Now they have a follow-up edition which appears to be simply rewritten for Java 2. The website referenced no longer exists and you now get redirected to Winston's book site, which does not even pretend to support this book! The last update to the known bugs was in 1997!!! I've sent him at least two emails on his errors since then! I also found the segment numbering scheme to be distracting and strange. The "segments" are 1 or 2 paragraph subsections; they are numbered sequentially throughout the book. The author will say "please refer to segment number 238..." and I see this more like a GOTO in programming and therefore a cop-out by authors that didn't want to bother with numbering sections in the normal manner. This is just a personal peeve and I would only take off one star at most for it.
Rating:
Summary: Dry & obscure
Review: Clarity is not the authors' forte. The book is sprinkled with gibberish like
.. an initial value supplied by a constructor for an instance variable survives an initial value supplied in an instance-variable-definition statement.
Rating: 
Summary: Clear and Intelligent, But With Some Drawbacks
Review: Contrary to the opinions if some reviewers, I felt that clarity was this author's forte. The book is well-designed, clear in content and format, and provides a good introduction to Java for anyone. However, a couple of failures. You have to ready about half the book (entire is c.300 pages) before you can do much programming. And if you're looking to write a lot of applets, you're proabably going to need a supplementary book.
Rating: 
Summary: Keep your receipt!
Review: Easy book to understand...but the author keeps refering to examples he did 10 chapters ago! If you don't like to re-read chapters to refresh your memory, DONT BUY THIS BOOK!
Rating:
Summary: Concise! No fluff!
Review: Excellent choice for the very busy individual who has no time for theory. If you want the "Beef" this is the book! A must to compliment the "CoreJava" series!
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