Why would I write about Java in 2004? Isn't Java well-understood topic and something with reached consensus?
If you have to ask yourself those questions you are marketing or CFO. Us techies have very different attitude: we either love our technology or some outside power (like, errr... earning for living) is forcing us to use one.
While, I'm fortunate enough to work with technologies that I love (which include Linux, PostgreSQL, perl, Open Source software and much much more...) I didn't gave much thought why I never did anything in Java beside this little applet back in 1996.
And then, I accidentally stumbled upon book Bitter Java. With that title, I had to flip few pages... And, guess what. It's one of best books that I read (without need for technology described in it).
While my opinion on Java hasn't changed (based on cover as Paul Graham would say), I would recommend Bitter Java as one of best technical books that I read lately.