I have always found Swing one of the coolest parts of the Java programming language. The Swing concept has also grown since its first advent.

The mission this book is dedicated to navigate the reader through this vast API. I am impressed how the 800+ pages of this heavy book with a lot of code listings, still can remain such a pleasure to read. In fact, it is sometimes even hard to stop reading!

Part 1 covers the foundations of Swing and AWT. Fundamental concepts like Graphics and threads are clearly explained. As a reader you really get the big picture how Swing works together with the hosting operation system and its handling of the graphic environment.

Parts II and III "basics/advanced" topics seem aimed more for reference and handy help for everyday work solutions - "How to add a menu" for example. Even the samples are nice to read and easy to follow in this book.

The final part is about some specialized topics - like printing (yes, really a part of Swing). The concept of Windows drag and drop has a dedicated chapter of its own. The code samples are clean and well outlined. In spite of the implicit target group of "advanced" programmers, I think the text is also useful for the ambitious beginner on Java and/or Swing.

Learning by building a complete application (a JPEG-editor in this book) is certainly a both fun and rewarding to way to learn any programming! Recommended.