Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code

The first few chapters that talk about why refactoring is crucial are ok. Rest of the book is just full of obvious things that you already know. Even for someone new to programming, I'd say it won't help because the examples are difficult to follow and too mechanic.

I have read the 2nd version,
It's a classical book that you must own,
and keep it as reference.
Many common sense refactoring if you have been programming for a while.

Refactoring explained. This book is probably a must-read for all software developers who wants to better themselves. It formalises refactoring reasons and methods into a detailed, yet simple-to-read manner. It helps point out code smells, highlights the obvious (the so-called common sense) to possibly very raw developers, advocates testing, as well as providing seeds and ideas for future development work. This is a really good companion to any notable book on design patterns.