I recommend several books on learning Java

s Java in a Nutshell: a Desktop Quick Reference, version 2
By David Flanagan
Press: O 'reilly & Assoc
Publication date: 1997
Summary: a brief summary of the Java 1.1 online documentation. Personally, I prefer to read documents online, especially when they are changing so quickly. However, many people still like printed documents, which can save some money on Internet access. The book also provides more discussion than online documentation.

s The Java Class Libraries:An Annotated Reference
By Patrick Chan and Rosanna Lee
Publisher: addison-wesley
Publication date: 1997
Summary: as an online reference resource, the reader should be provided with sufficient instructions to make it easy to use. "If I could only have one Java book, I would definitely choose it," says a technology reviewer for Thinking in Java. But I'm not as excited as he is. It was too large, too expensive, and the quality of the examples didn't satisfy me. But in times of trouble, the book is valuable. And it seems to have more depth (and certainly more text) than the Java in a Nutshell.

s Java Network Programming
By Elliote Rusty Harold
David Flanagan
Press: O 'reilly
Publication date: 1997
Summary: before reading this book, I can say that I don't understand Java's problems with the web at all. Later, I also found his Web site, "Cafe au Lait," to be an exciting, personal, and frequently updated place with a wealth of valuable Java development resources. With updates almost daily, you can see a lot of java-related news here.

s Core Java, 3rd edition
By Cornel and Horstmann
Press: Prentice-Hall
Publication date: 1997
Introduce: the problem that encounters to oneself, if cannot find the answer in "Thinking in Java", this is a very good reference place. Note: the version of Java 1.1 is Core Java 1.1 Volume 1-Fundamentals & Core Java 1.1 Volume 2-Advanced Features.

s JDBC Database Access with Java
Authors: Hamilton, Cattell and Fisher
Publisher: addison-wesley
Publication date: 1997
Summary: if you know nothing about SQL and databases, this book is a good starting point. It also explains the API in detail and provides a "comment reference." Like all the other books in the "Java series" (the only set of books licensed by JavaSoft), the disadvantage of this book is that it is over-rendered and only speaks well of Java - there is nothing in the series that is bad for Java.

s Java Programming with CORBA
By Andreas Vogel and Keith Duddy
Press: Jonh Wiley & Sons
Publication date: 1997
Brief introduction: this book covers three major Java orbs (Visbroker, Orbix, Joe) in detail, each with a number of code examples.

s Design Patterns
Authors: Gamma, Helm, Johnson and Vlissides
Publisher: addison-wesley
Publication date: 1995
Introduction: this is a classic book that initiated the programming field solution revolution.

s UML Toolkit
By hans-erik Eriksson and Magnus Penker
Press: Jonh Wiley & Sons
Publication date: 1997
Description: explains UML and how to use it, and provides practical examples of Java for reference. The accompanying cd-rom contains Java code and a stripped-down version of Rational Rose. This book provides an excellent description of UML and explains how it can be used to build actual systems.

s Practical skills for Programmers
By Binstock and Rex
Publisher: addison-wesley
Publication date: 1995
Summary: algorithms are described in C, so they can be easily converted to Java. Each algorithm is explained in detail.