Python Cookbook

Beginning Python: From Novice to Professional (Beginning: From Novice to Professional)

Python in a Nutshell

Foundations of Python Network Programming (Foundations)

Learning Python, Second Edition

Python

The Quick Python Book

Format: Paperback
Author: Daryl D Harms
ReleaseDate: 01 January, 2000
Publisher: Manning Publications
Rating:

Excellent intro, AND a good read
I have nothing to add to the other reviews, except to emphasize that it is very readable. This is, I think, the best quick introduction to Python that you can get. Many introductory books are hard to get through, simply because they are so dry and boring. This book, on the other hand, is very readable, and actually makes the process of reading about the language enjoyable.

If you are getting started with Python, I recommend this book, and also O'Reilly's "Python in a Nutshell". With those two books, you should have everything you need to get started.

Excelent introductory book

Probably the best introductory book to a subject i have. A book to get you up to speed in programming Python, plenty of examples and beautifully done, well crafted, easy to read, fast to get the information without many rereadings, great design and the most important, it does a superb job.

Best Language Book Since Kernighan & Ritchie!
I wanted to learn Python as a replacement for Perl so I bought all the O'Reilly books, which were OK but too chatty and disorganized for my taste. Excuse my enthusiasm, but this is one of the best software books I've ever read and I've been programming professionally for 16 years. I picked up Quick Python and found myself reading it like a bestseller and I still reread it. I was amazed at its consistent clarity, depth and friendliness with lots of tight examples in a visually pleasing format. The authors don't just cover the material, they also let you in on the subtleties and gotchas that go unmentioned in a reference like Beazley's Python Essential Reference (which I also own but for me Quick Python works better most of the time).

Furthermore in order to explain Python well, the authors provide astute explanations of general programming topics such as exception handling, regular expressions, and the pros and cons of the current crop of popular programming languages. They also bring in experts, even Guido Van Rossum (the creator of Python), to write chapters on more advanced topics like JPython and Zope.

My only caveat is that this is not the best place for beginners to start--Lutz & Ascher's Learning Python would be better--but it is a good book for beginners to own and dip into as they develop.

Other reviewers have mentioned that Quick Python's coverage of Tkinter (the main Python GUI package) is thin and that's true, though somewhat understandable since Tkinter is quite a beast and whole books have been written that don't cover Tkinter or Tk all that well. I would dearly love to see Harms & McDonald bring their accessible, thorough-going approach to Tkinter and its extension, Python Megawidgets.