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As a book for (almost) complete novices, I can recommend it, albeit with some reservations. I like the style of the book; it explains everything in small steps, is clearly organised and even has a reasonable index. The examples are not too long and generally focused. The book begins with a focus on Software Engineering (SE), which I must applaud. In addition, 'Software Engineering Issues' are highlighted throughout the book. The introduction to OO is also reasonable and I like the way concepts are explained in general terms before C++ specifics are introduced.

Now the drawbacks. In places, the book seems a bit Macintosh specific, though not as much as to make it unsuitable for users of other systems. I find it much worse that the code contains I/O statements littered throughout. This is bad practice and a book that stresses SE so much should surely practice what it preaches.

As the main text for a first course in programming, this book could be useful; similarly, a beginner would find it useful for self-study. Unlike many other books, this one takes the time to explain things and doesn't contain too many glaring errors - sadly still an unusual thing for a C++ book.