Head First Java, 2nd Edition

It has been quite a while since I did any serious programming, particularly in Java. This book served as a great refresher, and was an easy read. The authors' premise that by adding pictures, jokes and puzzles help to hold the reader's attention was true for me.

Given the format, I thought that the book did a great job of covering the basics of programming in Java, including threads, IO and even some Swing.

I'll buy more books in this series.

Let me start by saying that I had no experience when it came to writing any sort of code before I got this book.

This book's graphical approach appealed to me and indeed helped a lot. I'm still no where near finished with it but so far it has been very useful. I wish it had suggested some IDE's to help me get started like Eclipse or NetBeans but I knew some programmers who could help me out.

In terms of general knowledge of java and its uses this book does an outstanding job. I enjoy the humor and the examples in this book as well. It's not the best book if you want to know comprehensive java but it isn't made for that. It only got 4 stars because I don't feel like a text book needs a rave review.

This book is the most user friendly book to teach Java. This is how I got started, and am now a full-on software developer for a fortune-500 company making a good living. I recommend this and other books in the HF series to anyone wanting to learn programming on their own.

I'll admit it... I'm a huge fan of the Head First series. This is the third I own and at least two others (currently unreleased) are on my to-buy list just waiting for their release. The style of Head First books in general is fantastic and helps things make sense right away. That being said, I was a bit disappointed in certain aspects of Head First Java. Make no mistake, I still heartily recommend it, but it was not as good as it could have been.

Frankly, the only specific identifiable element that I disliked was the crossword puzzles. Now, I LOVE the crossword puzzles in other Head First books. In fact, they're one of my favorite elements in the Head First equation. However, the crosswords in Head First Java were lacking, often with strange "hints" that were more confusing than helping. Examples: "can't pin it down", "dept. of LAN jockeys", and "Pi house".

Additionally, the overall feel of the book was inferior to the previous two I've read (Head First C# and Head First SQL). Unfortunately, I can't articulate exactly what the difference is, but it just wasn't as engrossing as the others.

In the end, I do recommend the book. It is a fine-quality product. However, do not use this as a prime example of the Head First series -- it is not their best.

Hard to make learning Java fun but they do try. It is a fairly easy read with lots of pictures and alternative ways of getting the same point accross. Not a reference book on Java, it will teach you Java.