This book takes a gentle approach to the data structures course in Java. It offers an early, self-contained review of object-oriented programming and Java to give students a firm grasp of key concepts, and allows those experienced in other languages to adjust easily. The book also offers a flexibility which allows professors such options as emphasizing object-oriented programming, covering recursion and sorting early or accelerating the pace of the course. This title meets the needs of professors searching for a book to balance the introduction of object-oriented programming and data structures with Java.