Charles,
             I'll second the vote for Myke Predko's book. It goes
from basics to fairly advanced and has good practical examples. Since
I bought it I've only put 1 newbie question append to Piclist ;-)

I borrowed the Nigel Gardener - Beginners Guide from my library. It's
quite expensive and doesn't cover anywhere near the detail of Myke's
book. I didn't find it too useful personally.

Brian.
Brian Jones
Java Technology Centre
IBM Hursley