This book is a bit heavy to read. I suggest you get a background introduction online first. Otherwise, it may leave you bewildered and confused with alot of technical material without some clear grounding in objects and references. There isn't enough balance in this book between theory and practical application. But, gives you a full in depth understanding of what Corba is and it's future. Make sure you understand fully how Java works before embarking on reading this book. However, it does cover some fundamental theories of Java and relates them to how they are extended in Corba.