The best beginner's book I've come across is http://horstmann.com/corejava.html . If you're a little bit experienced at programming in another language or two, you might instead go for the Nutshell book by Flanagan. Look at both of them to get a feel for which you prefer.

In reply to Re: (OT) Recommendations for Java books by j3
in thread (OT) Recommendations for Java books by Anonymous Monk

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