Rating:  - OK for an intro book
Sams C++ in 21 Days is OK at best but lacks depth on covered subjects & does not cover some at all. Linked lists & binary trees were covered in three paragraphs and a small picture. Good for beginning to learn C++ but that where it stops.
Rating:  - If You Want to Learn C, Look No Further
Master programmers may be better off buying something like the C books by Dennis Ritchie or Guy Steele, but if you're a beginning programmer who wants to learn C as your first or second programming language, this would be a great book to learn from.
Rating: - Best introduction to C-based languages in general
The definitions in this book are so clear, that it can be used by students of any C-based language. I used it while learning C++ and JavaScript as a reference.
Rating: - Good point of view, but lots of errors as well...
I really like the way it explains things, it goes into details everytime the author feels that the material needs more explanation, but there are lots of (and I mean LOTS OF) mistyped sentences, sourcecodes, and the author even uses bad syntax! (one of the worst mistakes that can be really confusing to beginners: printf("%d",&int_array[0]) is wrong!!! you don't need to use the address of sign here, it is a pointer to that element itself!) and believe there are even worse...If there won't be a 7th or 8th version of this book, then SAMS can really be ashamed of themselves.
Rating: - A Three Legged Chair............
Not a bad text, but needs more support.As you progress towards the middle of the second week, the language presented here becomes somewhat confusing for those who have never programmed before. Most of the lessons taught in the book will work on most C/C++ Compilers. Every chapter goes on to describe how to use various reserved words and functions, but only provides a basic understanding on how to program in C. Other titles I own, give you a better view on common mistakes and pitfalls in programming, while this text doesn't. Weekly reviews in the book branch out every step of the way, but compile errors are almost unavoidable. These errors branch further outward, as the author doesn't relay any approach to messages that frequently crop up, while learning to program.
Overall you can get by, but it's strongly advised that you have another reference guide with you to avoid common mistakes, and pre-processor issues. Generally I liked the format in the book, but because C programming is difficult to master, the chapters lack specific guidelines for a self taught approach to learning C in 21 days.
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