---
product_id: 1257838
title: "Head First Java, 2nd Edition"
price: "$139"
currency: NZD
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.nz/products/1257838-head-first-java-2nd-edition
store_origin: NZ
region: New Zealand
---

# Head First Java, 2nd Edition

**Price:** $139
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Head First Java, 2nd Edition [Sierra, Kathy, Bates, Bert] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Head First Java, 2nd Edition

Review: Wonderful primer on the basics of Java - I'm a fairly well versed programmer in some of the older style languages like C and C++. If you have some archaic C question, I may be your woman. I'm not so familiar with Java - in fact the last time I touched the language I could run to the local coffee shop, get a coffee, and get back to my program and it would just be starting up (back in the dark days, when java was really slow). Fast forward 12 years and not only is Java nimble and performant, but its something I need to know. Yesterday. Knowing this, I turned to the Head first series as they get their points across quickly and cleanly. Head First really does teach the topics so that you'll remember them. Most into programming books give you an example and you work through it. In Head First, yes there is an example, but the examinations happen via stories, diagrams, pictures, games and really good (bad) humor. What this means is that no matter how you learn, you'll find something that helps the concepts stick. Each chapter builds upon the last and each chapter reinforces lessons from before. You can tell that people who really know how to teach designed these books. Now this book is basic. I personally didn't mind reading about Objects and Object-Oriented design yet again. I also didn't mind reading about polymorphism, encapsulation, et al. The main reason for this is the presentation. Well that and there are a few subtle differences between C++ and Java that they talk about that I need to know. But mostly its the fun way they present the topics. I mean even if you know these topics cold, I still found some of their examples and comparisons well thought out and memorable. So much so in fact that I can see using them to help explain concepts to people I'll mentor or to marketing folks. If, however, you have programmed in Java before and are comfortable in the world of OO, and are looking for something to take you to the next step, I'd suggest you keep moving onto other books (Effective Java by Bloch is amazing). However, if you are new to Java, and even new to programming, you'll love the Head First books. The writing is clear and engaging (and correct!), the examples make sense, and way they tailor lessons to trigger different parts of your learning brain is really well done.
Review: More a Java Programming Class than a Reference Book - When you first glance through this book you will notice all of the retro pictures and half jokes. I've never read a Dummys/Idiots book on programming, but I can imagine them having the same look and feel. But then when you dig into the actual content... This book, to me, felt like a good class on Java programming from a great professor who has real world experience - the tone is conversational and the topics selected that make the most real world sense. There are a few large "class projects" that have a very real world feel to them (a networked beatbox anyone?). Important points are pounded home. It is the class but without the text book... The topics covered also seemed to have a "real person" feel as opposed to a textbook feel. I read another popular Java book just before this one. It threw 2 chapters on GUI basics as almost an afterthought, there was no networking, nothing about inner classes, nothing about making distribution packages, etc. In that book the basic ideas were gone over in great depth, greater than here, but these more practical topics were skipped or had the briefest mentioned. With this book you start using Swing just a little more than half way through the book. All the topics in the last paragraph (plus many others) were covered in a practical method. This book, however, isn't perfect. As mentioned above, this book is like a good class on Java programming without the textbook. Sometimes the textbook is needed. When I was in school I always read the textbook no matter how good the prof - it was needed to get the full benefit of the info. I also like having good reference books that I can leaf through when I have an issue. This book is a mediocre, at best, reference book and admits it. It also often gets too cute. OK, sometimes that is needed, but it can get a little... As another reviewer mentioned, this books often seems to be aimed at collage age kids, not professional programmers. Not necessarily a bad thing - I've been out of my 20s longer than I care to admit and I never felt I was too old to be reading it. I would recommend this book if you are just starting off in Java or are rusty and want to pick it back up. I would also recommend getting a more conventional book as foil and as a reference.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #379,764 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #18 in Object-Oriented Software Design #107 in Object-Oriented Design #1,026 in Computer Software (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,079 Reviews |

## Images

![Head First Java, 2nd Edition - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/9155wsDnIFL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Wonderful primer on the basics of Java
*by A***R on December 13, 2009*

I'm a fairly well versed programmer in some of the older style languages like C and C++. If you have some archaic C question, I may be your woman. I'm not so familiar with Java - in fact the last time I touched the language I could run to the local coffee shop, get a coffee, and get back to my program and it would just be starting up (back in the dark days, when java was really slow). Fast forward 12 years and not only is Java nimble and performant, but its something I need to know. Yesterday. Knowing this, I turned to the Head first series as they get their points across quickly and cleanly. Head First really does teach the topics so that you'll remember them. Most into programming books give you an example and you work through it. In Head First, yes there is an example, but the examinations happen via stories, diagrams, pictures, games and really good (bad) humor. What this means is that no matter how you learn, you'll find something that helps the concepts stick. Each chapter builds upon the last and each chapter reinforces lessons from before. You can tell that people who really know how to teach designed these books. Now this book is basic. I personally didn't mind reading about Objects and Object-Oriented design yet again. I also didn't mind reading about polymorphism, encapsulation, et al. The main reason for this is the presentation. Well that and there are a few subtle differences between C++ and Java that they talk about that I need to know. But mostly its the fun way they present the topics. I mean even if you know these topics cold, I still found some of their examples and comparisons well thought out and memorable. So much so in fact that I can see using them to help explain concepts to people I'll mentor or to marketing folks. If, however, you have programmed in Java before and are comfortable in the world of OO, and are looking for something to take you to the next step, I'd suggest you keep moving onto other books (Effective Java by Bloch is amazing). However, if you are new to Java, and even new to programming, you'll love the Head First books. The writing is clear and engaging (and correct!), the examples make sense, and way they tailor lessons to trigger different parts of your learning brain is really well done.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ More a Java Programming Class than a Reference Book
*by T***D on October 3, 2010*

When you first glance through this book you will notice all of the retro pictures and half jokes. I've never read a Dummys/Idiots book on programming, but I can imagine them having the same look and feel. But then when you dig into the actual content... This book, to me, felt like a good class on Java programming from a great professor who has real world experience - the tone is conversational and the topics selected that make the most real world sense. There are a few large "class projects" that have a very real world feel to them (a networked beatbox anyone?). Important points are pounded home. It is the class but without the text book... The topics covered also seemed to have a "real person" feel as opposed to a textbook feel. I read another popular Java book just before this one. It threw 2 chapters on GUI basics as almost an afterthought, there was no networking, nothing about inner classes, nothing about making distribution packages, etc. In that book the basic ideas were gone over in great depth, greater than here, but these more practical topics were skipped or had the briefest mentioned. With this book you start using Swing just a little more than half way through the book. All the topics in the last paragraph (plus many others) were covered in a practical method. This book, however, isn't perfect. As mentioned above, this book is like a good class on Java programming without the textbook. Sometimes the textbook is needed. When I was in school I always read the textbook no matter how good the prof - it was needed to get the full benefit of the info. I also like having good reference books that I can leaf through when I have an issue. This book is a mediocre, at best, reference book and admits it. It also often gets too cute. OK, sometimes that is needed, but it can get a little... As another reviewer mentioned, this books often seems to be aimed at collage age kids, not professional programmers. Not necessarily a bad thing - I've been out of my 20s longer than I care to admit and I never felt I was too old to be reading it. I would recommend this book if you are just starting off in Java or are rusty and want to pick it back up. I would also recommend getting a more conventional book as foil and as a reference.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great "first" book for learning Java
*by W***E on January 18, 2015*

This was the required book for a Java class I recently took at our local community college and I'm thankful. Not only was it a bargain compared to so many of the extremely overpriced college texts, but it's been a great read. The authors have taken a less mainstream approach to teaching the subject. This is not one of the 800 page "Unleashed" type reference books. Instead of pages of dry text and syntax they've taken the approach to introduce a concept, give some "usually" runable code examples and further reinforce the concept with pictures/diagrams, humor and then wrap the chapter up with puzzles and other exercises. If you're starting out learning Java this is a great first step. More than once when a rather complicated concept was introduced and I went, "Huh?", the authors would continue to clarify the concept. They know the source material very well and seem to know the primary target audience very well. I had read some of the other reviews and one person claimed to have finished the book but stated the fact that they didn't learn enough to write any Java code. I find that statement impossible to believe. Even just working through the chapters you write lots of small programs from games to a music synthesizer. This book is intended to be the first step on your path to learning Java and while you won't be a master Java programmer after reading it, you will most definitely be on your way to building a solid foundation. This book does expect the reader to have decent knowledge of computers and at least some basic knowledge of programming concepts but other than that each chapter introduces the concepts in nice bite-sized chunks. My community college class only covered half the book but this book is easily useable for self-learning. I plan to re-read the book from the start and then continue through the 2nd half.

## Frequently Bought Together

- Head First Java: A Brain-Friendly Guide
- Effective Java
- Head First Design Patterns: Building Extensible and Maintainable Object-Oriented Software

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*Store origin: NZ*
*Last updated: 2026-03-02*