• The Java Programming Language by Ken Arnold, James Gosling and David Holmes. 3rd Edition.
  Covers fundamentals of language, but not important packages. Accurate description of language. Where I go when I need a deeper understanding of some feature of the language. Covers Collections. This is the book I recommend.
• Java: An Introduction to Computer Science and Programming by Walter Savitch.
  Straightforward and complete introduction to language that can be used by people with no programming experience. Students like this text.
• Introduction to Programming Using Java: An Object-Oriented approach by David Arnold and David Weiss.
  Introduction to object-oriented programming using Java. Meant as a first CS course text. I liked it.
• Up to Speed with Swing by Steven Gutz. Assumes you know Java and introduces basic Swing classes. Readable.
• Computing Concepts using Java Essentials by Cay Horstmann.
  Covers Java for the beginning programming student. Used in 1A.
• Core Java 2nd Ed by Cay Horstmann and Gary Cornell
  language + applets, user-interface, delegation event-model (JDK 1.1), and new graphical widgets (e.g. scrollpane).
• Java in a Nutshell (2nd Edition) (JDK 1.1)
  A complete brief description of the language plus a list of the methods and classes in the JDK 1.1 packages. JDK 1.0 had 8 packages and JDK 1.1 has 23. Moreover the old packages have been extended. These new packages cover important extensions such as JavaBeans, reflections, serialization, JAR, and a new delegation event-model which replaces the old model.
• Thinking in Java by Bruce Eckel.
  This text covers JDK 1.1 with some information about JDK 1.2. It is meant for the serious programmer who has already programmed in some language, preferably C++. I like this text a lot. He provides practical advice. The text covers the topics in Java in a Nutshell in greater depth.
• Graphic Java 1.1: Mastering the AWT 2nd Ed.
  thorough discussion of components, lightweight components, custom components. More than you want to know. Good reference.
• Symantic Visual Café Sourcebook by Cary Jardin and Pam Dixon. A complete guide to Creating Java Applets and applications with Visual Café . Note: only similar to Visual Cafe Pro.
• For an up-to-date discussion of the Java and its use, see http://www.javasoft.com/.
• Any book that covers JDK1.1 that you can learn from. Everyone learns differently.