Core Java, Volume I: Fundamentals (Oracle Press for Java)

The good thing: The contents are updated, including all new features for Java 21. The text is easy to read and follow, and there are many code samples to explain the concepts.The bad thing: The paper quality. The book size is bigger than previous editions, the text is bigger too, but the paper is too thin for this format. I mean, there is around 1mm height's difference every 100 pages between this and the seventh edition. if you think the page size is bigger the result is a VERY THIN page. So, you cannot read this book standing up. You need a table or something similar supporting the book because the book cannot stay rigid in any position.So sad, seems changing editor (from Prentice Hall to Oracle Press) affect negativetly to the book quality.

The content of the book is exactly what you want. Kudos to the author. It's easy to follow and presents exactly what you would expect out of a fundamentals of programming book. As to the the quality of the printing it is absolute trash. First of all, compared to all the other tech books I own this thing is at least 2 inches taller and wider than anything else I own. The sheer size of it combined with the cheap paper makes it floppy and difficult to deal with. You basically have to put this on a desk, open it up and read it. The print is oversized compared to similar titles so there's no reason this could not have been smaller w/o requiring more pages. You're going to be challenged reading this while lying in bed. As I alluded to, the pages are microscopically thin. For a book that costs just about as much as a hardcover college textbook it's really unacceptable. It couldn't cost more than $10 to manufacture this. The print is all grayscale. No color. It has an almost faded quality to it like the press was running out of ink at the time. Honestly, you know those foreign edition text books you'd buy in college to save money. That's basically what this feels like. Considering this is just an incremental update the publishing company is absolutely taking buyers for a ride with this presentation.