Teach Yourself-- C++

I picked up this book after one hour comparison to other books available in our B & N bookstore. After one week of studying C++ I can say the book completely fulfilled my expectations, and more: I feel quite fluent in C++ now ... As a foreigner, I have to recognize Al Steven's very rich English; I have learned something from the newspaper/high style as well ... I only can recommend the book to everyone who wants to start with C++. Tiny errors in some listings stimulated me to correct them to get running examples, and this way I learned even more!

C++ is difficult enough without bombarding a newcomer with long complicated examples. This is the beauty of this book. Stevens is a clear concise writer. Each example is short and isolated without being trivial. Unlike 'for Dummies' books no time is wasted testing the writers comedy writing skills.This book is complete enough to be both a good tutorial and a handy reference. I recommend it highly as an introductory text.

I'm not finished with this book, but am very pleased so far. Stevens' organization and completeness are excellent. He tries to go from simpler concepts to more complex ones, and not get ahead of himself. It's difficult to do this with a topic like programming, where everything is interrelated! The instruction is pretty easy to follow, and the examples are very apt and easy to understand, with good variable names. Unlike most C++ books, Stevens' does not assume you know C. I did notice a couple of places in the book where it might be hard to get the concept if you had never used C at all, but I think if you kept reading and tried the examples, you could figure it out. I highly recommend this book to anyone who needs to learn C on their own. The only criticism I have is about the editing and proofing quality (typos in code, scratches on printing plates) but only editorial types like me would notice such details. Well worth the money if you don't have time to take a C++ class.

This is the BEST book I've ever seen for learning c++. It explains all the key concepts of OOP and C++ in complete and comprehensive examples, from inheritence to copy constructors. This and Schildt's C++ Complete Reference are the most valuable books I own.

I bought this book and Stroustrup's C++ Programming Language. I've been very happy with this book. The simple compiler isn't good for real development, but for learning the basics, it's ideal. The examples are built into the compiler to maximize ease of use. I think his coverage of the language is complete. Just as importantly, he sticks to the ANSI standard; quite different from many other beginner books. While one can't expect one book to give a complete mastery of such a complex language, this book is a great starter.