Java Programming Fundamentals (CyberRookies Series) (Paperback)
by Kimberly Seefeld

Paperback: 354 pages
Publisher: Delmar Thomson Learning
Bk&CD-Rom edition (August 13, 2002)
ISBN: 1584502215
Price: $23.77 at amazon.com

This book is optional. It's a bit out of date, but I wanted something short and simple, just to get things started, and this is the best I could find. If you have done some C programming, you probably don't need this book.

Head First Java, 2nd Edition (Paperback)
by Kathy Sierra, Bert Bates

Paperback: 720 pages
Publisher: O'Reilly
2nd edition (February 9, 2005)
ISBN: 0596009208
Price: $29.67 at amazon.com

This book is required. It is the absolute best book for helping you understand the object-oriented concepts of Java. Unfortunately, it assumes you are not a total beginner; this is why I also ordered the Seefeld book for this class.