Learning about Java bytecode and the JVM

Question

In a recent question asked recently my simple minded answer highlighted many of my misconceptions about Java, the JVM, and how the code gets compiled and run. This has created

Answer 1

There is only one reliable source for JVM understanding

The Java® Virtual Machine Specification Java SE 7 Edition

http://docs.oracle.com/javase/specs/jvms/se7/html/index.html