Comment Fun Science with your Computer (Score 1) 525
Fun Science with your Computer by Christophe Cornu.
This book explains how to solve interesting (and progressively more complex) problems, using Java to work through the examples, building up from basic principles in Chapter 1 to implementing a chess program by the end of the book. It's not quite as polished as a professionally-edited book (you can tell his native tongue is French, although he writes in very good English), but it's a better self-study aid than any book I've seen from a mainstream publisher.
(Full disclosure: I used to work with Christophe at a previous job).
