Templates Book - Data Structures and the Standard Template Library. I think this book is quite difficult to understanding for a programming book. This programming book author is talking about something, assuming you already have the knowledge, and then explaining it later, sometimes chapters later. Similarly, when using a class, Collins will state what the class is supposed to do, but not include the implementation until later, which would be good, but you've already been bombarded with so much other stuff you forget what the thing did in the first place. There are also no full examples included with several sections of the book, which are definitely needed to learn the material.
Finally, when it comes to the data structures (most of the book), Collins explains what they are, and shows pieces of code, but never full implementations. For example, he shows how to adjust a heap, and delete nodes from a heap, but not how to start from scratch. Also, he uses templates containing classes without telling the reader what they mean.
I am currently a sophmore in a data structures class, and have talked with at least 5 students in my class. All of them agree that the book is absolutely worthless, as it only gives partial information that's hard to understand. If you're a professor, please think twice about choosing this book. More Review on Amazon