Use C not C++. C++ is a castrated Version of C specifically designed by committee to lobotomize the programmer's intellect. I learned C in a week and was developing advanced data stuctures within a couple months. An especially powerful ability in C is the indirect function call, and when used with recursion you can do incredible things.
Edit : Okay, I did it again spouting off out of place. I hold firm in the opinion I have of C++, but admit that C may be too unstructured for many people to manage well.

[This message has been edited by LCC (edited 25 August 2001).]