content: This book's strong point is that it covers a very large amount of information on java programming. This, however, is also it's weak point. It doesn't cover anything in any useful amount. I think if it covered half the subject matter, and went into depth on the subjects it did cover, this book would be a must have. I'd skip it unless you just wanted to see what java was capable of. It provides a good survey of java topics. I'd buy books on the subject you were interested in, and skip this one. I returned mine.