Java Developer's Bookshelf
By LHBooks
By LHBooks
A curated list of some of the best Java books for software developers.
Head First Java
Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates
$59.99 $53.99A good visual learner's introduction to the language.
Java in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference
David Flanagan and Benjamin J. Evans
$59.99 $53.99Faster, dryer and more detailed than Head First Java. Great if you know another C-family language, though that's not a necessary precondition.
Think Java: How to Think Like a Computer Scientist
Allen B. Downey and Chris Mayfield
$49.99 $44.99Undergraduate CS course book in Java.
Java Concurrency in Practice
Doug Lea, Brian Goetz, et al.
$59.99 $53.99Every dev needs to understand concurrency, and many need help to understand. This book provides it.
Java Cookbook: Problems and Solutions for Java Developers
Ian F. Darwin
$69.99 $62.99My own contribution: how to perform common (and a few not-so-common) tasks in modern Java. Updated for Java 11-14.
Java Performance: In-Depth Advice for Tuning and Programming Java 8, 11, and Beyond
Scott Oaks
$59.99 $53.99Java generally has good performance, but there are cases where you need to improve it by altering your code. Use this guide.
Java Puzzlers: Traps, Pitfalls, and Corner Cases
Joshua Bloch and Neal Gafter
$49.99Every programming language has some "interesting" corner cases. This book will explode your head as you try to figure out why some obvious things aren't so obvious.
Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software
Richard Helm, Erich Gamma, et al.
$59.99The classic work on Design Patterns, first released the same year as Java itself. Patterns apply to most OO languages; although the examples in the text are in C++ you can read them.
The Practice of Programming
Brian Kernighan and Rob Pike
$49.99How to get to be a good programmer? Read this book and see.
Unix: A History and a Memoir
Brian W Kernighan
$18.95C and Unix had a big influence on Java; Kernighan had a big influence on Unix, and tells its story here.
Java 9 Modularity: Patterns and Practices for Developing Maintainable Applications
Paul Bakker and Sander Mak
$39.99Sander shares his very detailed knowledge of modules, one of the biggest changes in recent Java history.
Functional Programming in Java: How Functional Techniques Improve Your Java Programs
Pierre-Yves Saumont
$49.99While Java can never become a pure functional language, modern Java offers a lot of support for FP, and this book explores how to use that to become "a better Java developer."
Head First Design Patterns
Eric Freeman, Elisabeth Robson, et al.
$69.99 $62.99More in the Head First series: visual learners' way to absorb the GoF Design Patterns using Java code and clear examples.
Thanks for looking! Please support this list by purchasing my Java Cookbook, or any of these fine works.