Rating: 

I started reading another XML book - Teach Yourself XML in 21 days which put me to sleep, TWICE. Then, after hearing Brett give a talk at a Java Users conference I decided to give this book a try and it was well worth it. I am now recommending this book to friends interested in learning more about Java and XML.

I like the approach of using the Apache (free) software versions of Xerces, Xalan and Cocoon. This allows you to follow along with the code, modify the examples and create your own.

The book gets you started on all of the current APIs: SAX, DOM, and JDOM with sample code that works. If you need an API reference manaul, this books isn't for you.

The author answered an outstanding question long before the Oreilly folks ever got back to me with a response that they couldn't answer my question and would forward the question to the author.