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Let me start off by stating that my experience with Java is very limited. I've done some reading and have done very little coding in Java. This review is not by a hardcore Java programmer. Yet, the book states that "You don't need to be advanced, but you need some experience.", so I somewhat qualify to write this review.

We have started using some Java at work, so I have been trying to become more familiar with the technology. I have read about the "Head First" books on the O'Reilly website and found them somewhat intriguing. Therefore, I jumped (metaphorically of course, although I can jump) at the chance to review "Head First EJB" when it became available.

One of the several reader comments, that are printed on the first couple of pages, states "Welcome to the first GUI-based techinical book!" I think that is a pretty good description of "Head First EJB". The authors did a good job of making the whole book interesting. Because of all the little cartoon like pictures and captions, I found my self reading, not just skimming, the table of contents. The next section is the intro, which was my favorite section of the book. In the intro the authors explain who should read this book, who should not, how the brain is naturally inclined to help you forget everything, and how and why the format of the book will help you trick the brain into remembering and understanding everything you read. The authors also have a good faq type page of techniques to help you "bend your brain into submission". I like the fact that one of the book rules is that the reader is not allowed to use an IDE, since an IDE takes care of a lot of the details for the user and the authors want the reader to understand what is going on under the hood. One of the goals of the book is to prepare the reader for passing the Sun Certified Buisness Component Developer Exam (SCBCD), so these under the hood details are important. In fact, the authors are co-developers of the exam. After the intro, there is the meat of the book which is the EJB technology. The reader is given an overall introduction to EJB, a description of the architecture, and the rest of the chapters go into finer detail about the process and different types of EJBs, amazingly just like the table of contents are laid out. And finally we have the Appendix, which is cleverly titled the "Coffee Cram". This is a mock exam of 70 questions that are similar to the ones on the SCBCD exam. Throughout each chapter the authors have sections titled "there are no Dumb Questions". These are mock Q&As that reinforce, present in a different light, and add a little more detail to the material that was just read. They are written in a conversation mode, which is one of the tricks that force/help your brain to retain the information. There are also pictures of people with the cartoon bubble above their heads asking or answering questions which also aid in the reinforcing process.

I must admit the manner in which this book is written does tend to "trick" the brain into retaining the information. I did find my self enjoying and more importantly remembering material that I would otherwise glaze over. I would say that if you are planning to take the SCBCD test, remeber the authors are co-developers of the exam, or are new to the EJB technology, this book is a must buy. If you are, as the book states, "completely new to java", "a kick-butt java developer looking for an EJB reference book", or "J2EE looking for ultra-advanced techniques", this book is not for you.