What to read after Pro Spring 2.5?

It was with a heavy heart that I made the decision not to participate in writing Pro Spring 2.5. I am deeply thankful that Jan was around to pick up this book and run with it. Pro Spring has been a big part of my life for over three years, and I didn’t relinquish the reins lightly. When Juergen and I set out working on Spring Framework 2.0, I knew that I wouldn’t have the time to participate in the writing process and write the software at the same time. Fortunately, Jan was there to step into the breach. Jan and Apress had additionally planned to release Pro Spring 2.0, but Juergen and I inadv- tently made it impossible for them to keep up by making many changes to the Spring Framework. I vividly remember cringing when updating all the JSP form tags, knowing that I was creating yet more work for Jan. With the 2.5 release just on the horizon, Jan made the sensible choice to forego a 2.0 edition and head straight for 2.5. This was a wise move. The Spring Framework 2.5 release reflects the state of the art in both the Spring Framework and in enterprise Java frameworks as a whole. A guide book to this critical tool is necessary reading for any conscientious Java developer.