Steven Lawlor's readable explanations and accessible approach carefully guide students through the programming process with an emphasis on sound design principles. His friendly, open writing style, and use of rich, informative pedagogical features make it easy for students to read and understand. Lawlor uses a superior in-text learning system of chapter previews, memory diagrams, object summaries, execution charts, marginal notes, and boxes that demonstrate and teach C++ features. The book's flexible, modular design enables instructors to use it in a variety of situations. Lawlor introduces "objects" early (in Chapter 2), grouping together behaviors and properties in a special Object Charts section; however, students are not obliged to use classes until later, in Chapter 7. Lawlor also takes advantage of the new standard C++ string class to simplify handling character data.