This is a really interesting question - the main problem with identifying a single book is that while Java core syntax is relatively terse (you can for example

This is a really interesting question - the main problem with identifying a single book is that while Java core syntax is relatively terse (you can for example check out Precisely Java for an example: https://web-beta.archive.org/web/20110810052030/http://www.dina.kvl.dk/~sestoft/javaprecisely/ https://web-beta.archive.org/web/20110810052030/http://www.d...) the language delivers only through massive usage of the standard libraries. And this really makes it a completely different beast from C - a gap that kept growing at each subsequent version of Java (you may notice that Java Precisely hasn't been updated after Java 5, btw). Personally if I had to get back into Java today I would start by exploring Introduction to Programming in Java: An Interdisciplinary Approach by Robert Sedgewick & Kevin Wayne. The 2nd Edition has just been published (early April 2017) - but take in account that I am suggesting this basing myself exclusively on the reputation of the authors, and I haven't read it.