Concurrent Programming in Java: Design Principles and Pattern (Java Series) Paperback – 25 Oct. 1999

I very nearly didn't buy this book on the basis of many reviews here, however I decided to take a punt and have a look.I was astonished to find that I *really* got on well with this book; much of the philosophy makes perfect sense, the examples are lucid and the explanations are thorough.Perhaps this book is not for the faint hearted, but as an experienced developer I found this book to be exactly what I was looking for in terms of how to properly use synchronisation and lock-free algorithms.

I bought this book on the strength of several Amazon reviews, which praised it highly. However, it is easily the worst computer textbook I have ever owned. The author uses overly elaborate diagrams and pitifully few code examples to illustrate concurent programming.A sensible approach would have been to outline the typical designs of concurrent applications, and then to have built on that with increasingly sophisticated examples. Instead Lea relies on amazingly cryptic diagrams and descriptions loaded with jargon. I appreciate this is a complex topic, but having done a fair bit of threaded programming with POSIX threads and C, I know it can be explained more clearly.In conclusion, this is a poor addition to the otherwise excellent range of Addison Wesley Java books.Chris