What is a good book about the Java programming language?

I want to learn how to program in Java and I don't know which book will help me (I like books). So I need a good tutorial book that will also serve as an excellent reference book in the future. Help?

What is a good book about the Java programming language?
You cant have everything in one book. You need many.


My suggestion is that you use:





1. Bruce Eckel's "thinking in java" to learn, think, understand %26amp; digest concepts. (it's one of the best and


completely free)


http://www.mindview.net/Books/TIJ/





2. The Java Language documentation for reference. This cant be replaced by a book. A reference is useful because it references all the API and java's APIs are huge.





3. My java notes. I've spend years going through many many java books to come up with a short visual guide of the most important concepts. A selection of my notes is freely available at:


http://www.thanassis.com/java/index.htm


By no means my notes replace a book, but they give a quick way to make a mental mapping of the material.
Reply:Java Programming for Absolute Beginners, by Joseph P. Russel. I was making GUIs and games within a week! It also has advanced resources and a command list, a Java compiler, and many other programs and resources, such as GIMP for windows and CoolEditPro Demo.
Reply:Check out a For Dummies book


they're the best
Reply:anything by publishers Wrox or Oreilly.
Reply:The best book that I've seen is "Java How to Program" by Deitel.^1


In addition to this Sun Microsystems (the creators of Java) has excellent documentation on their website.^2 Also programmers heaven has many good articles and message boards.^3