Rating:  - Good content, haphazard presentation
The content of this book is definately top notch, however presentation of this material isn't ideal for a computer novice. Not to say its unreadable, but it leaves some gaps. Additionally the premise that a reader should program C before tackling C++ [while being one that most colleges believe in..ahem..more classes = more $$$] it is not one that I believe in. Sec
Rating:  - Better than most other C++ books
This book is an excellent guide to C++ for those with a good knowledge to C. Even though the author tries to convince you that knowledge of C isn't necessary for following the book, i think it will be great help if you could first get some idea of C before you read this one.
The way the author introduces the various features of C++ is great. For example, the way he introduces classes from structures is commendable. I havent seen any other book that has done a similar treatment.
The book is mostly practical advice on C++ programming. As and when new features are introduced, common pitfalls of using the feature are discussed. Also some good guidelines are provided as to how to use the feature.
Overall, a good book! You wont repent spending your hard earned bucks on this one!
Rating:  - This book was key in helping me land a job
I was a professional musician for about 8 years. With few job prospects available in that field, I was looking for a career change. I went through being a project manager for a while, but was laid off from a dot com (who hasn't ;-) ). The tech economy was still pretty good at that point so I decided to give programming a try. Didn't have much income at that point, but I found the free Borland command line compiler for download and "Thinking in C++". I also pulled down the JDK and picked up "Thinking in Java." I spent 8-10 hours a day for 3 months studying. Learning Java helped my understanding of C++, and vice versa.
The level of understanding that I was able to achieve from Mr. Eckel's excellent books helped me to land a job as a C++ programmer , which I've been at for 2 1/2 years now.
One important feature of "Thinking in C++" that has helped me in my job, is how he takes you through C to C++. When I first started, I was doing maintenance and bug fixes on C++ code that had a very strong C flavor. Without the coverage of C, and those concepts, I would not have been as effective in my duties.
I still refer to this book on a regular basis.
Rating: - Want to really learn C++?
I downloaded the electronic version of this book because I am visually impaired. After reading the first chapter and doing the exercises at the end of the chapter I bought the book from Amazon.com.
The book is easy to read and understand. The chapter exercises are well done and relate to what was just studied.
Rating: - Finally I understand C++ (and a lot more OOP)
I thought I knew C++ well, until I read this book. This is really a great book. While learning more of the C++ programming language, I also learned more of Object Oriented Programming. This book doesn't only show HOW the language works, but also WHY it works like it does. It shows alot of what happens "under the hood". There are also alot of examples where he shows how C++ differ in some aspects than C, and also the C++ equivalent of some old C stuff. The exercises at the end of each chapters are also very good. If I have to choose a negative point of the book (only if someone put a gun to my head), it would be that the chapters are a bit long. But hey, if you're a C++ programmer and haven't read this book yet, buy it now, you won't regret it.
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