There are certainly many Java books available these days. We typically recommend any of the following books for new developers:

• Core Java - Volume 1, Fundamentals
  Horstmann and Cornell
  The Sunsoft Press Java Series
  (Very thorough, fairly easy to read.)

• Java by Example
  Jackson and McClellan
  The Sunsoft Press Java Series
  (Good if you already know another language and want to try to learn Java by example.)

• Instant Java
  John A. Pew
  The Sunsoft Press Java Series
  (Can be good if you want to use the pre-written applets available on the CD.)

• Java Certification Exam Guide
  Barry Boone
  McGraw-Hill
  (Not necessarily for newbies, but a great resource if you want to prepare to take the Java exams.)

These are just a few books we have in our libraries that we think can be appropriate for new developers. In general, it's probably obvious that we've really enjoyed the series of books developed by Sunsoft Press.

If you want to learn Java - and not Microsoft's J++ implementation of Java - we recommend avoiding most J++ books. They can introduce features not available in Pure Java ^(TM), which we personally don't support. (Keep in mind that this is just our opinion.)

Other good books are certainly out there. We also usually like the Teach Yourself ... in 21 Days series of books.

Write us if you know of a good Java book to recommend for beginning Java developers. We'll gladly take a look at it and include it in our list if we think it's appropriate.