Rating: 
Summary: No help to me as a beginner
Review: Though this book has often been recommended as an excellent source for beginning programmers, I didn't get much from it after the first chapter. I found the writing excessively dry, the index substandard, the and the language very very opaque. The organization is also pretty haphazard. Quite often concepts are introduced briefly and off-handedly, but then dropped as "not quite ready" to be discussed, with no further reference given. Most of the examples used to demonstrate basics are either trivial or very abstract. A set of well-thought-out, useful examples are missing from this book, and if they had been included, would have gone a long way towards showing a beginner how to use this language. Generally, not up to O'Reilly standards.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting
Review: A little difficult to understand from a web perspective shifting to programming, but not too bad. However, I have to wonder why O'Reilly chose a rat as opposing to a python? I thought the snake would make more sense. Oh, well, back to the book. This would probably be more useful to someone who has more programming experience and not just some scripting and HTML which is what I had when I started the book.
Rating:
Summary: A Prized Possession
Review: A really great book, but more so if you already have some knowledge of programming. If you are new to Python and can make a few things happen, but would like to have the basics discussed for you in a book to enjoy in bed, this may suit you just fine. My copy is a prized possession. However, it is a book about learning the Python language itself. If you do not know anything at all about programming, consider *Learn to Program Using Python* by Alan Gauld.
Rating: 
Summary: It worked for me
Review: I think this book would be quite overwhelming to the compelete newbie to programming. It does assume that you have a programming background already, e.g. You will definitely not learn the principles of OO from this book, though you will learn the python constructs to support OO. But if you have the background, I think this book serves its purpose well, I was writing non trivial programs within a few days of picking up this book. It gives a good feel of what can be acheived with Python and a good base before you tackle the more hardcore Programming Python.
Rating:
Summary: A good overview that can be used to learn Python
Review: As someone who works with and trains people in many different programming languages and techniques, it is necessary for me to always keep an eye on new things. I had heard a great deal about the Python language and most comments were positive. Therefore, I read this book for the purpose of simply learning what the language had to offer rather than to actually learn how to program in it. I found the material to be well presented and informative, but certainly not for anyone with a limited programming background.
There are many references to what is done in C, which helped me, as I have an extensive background in the language. However, if you do not know C, then they are somewhat helpful filler at best, confusing chaff at the worst. The examples are in almost all cases very short, which makes them toys of limited use, but that is how learning a programming language is best done. It is possible to use this book to learn how to program in Python if you already know how to program in an object-oriented language. There are exercises at the end of each chapter and solutions to all are in an appendix. The exercises are at the level that they should be for beginners and the topics are standard learning material.
Since my goal was to simply learn something about the Python language, I extracted the desired information when I read it. If my goal would have been to learn how to program in Python, I could have also done that if I had read slower and did the exercises. It is a language with many interesting features and since it is also a scripting language, Python could be used for many things. No doubt I will have to learn it in the future and this book is where I will start.
Rating:
Summary: The best introductory book ever written
Review: For all programming newbies that want to start with a real programming language, Python must their choice and "Learning Python" their first book on programming. It provides a complete, concise introduction to Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) with Python and cleary explains how you can do almost everything with simple scripts! It does not include any kind of reference at all - however this is not a drawback because it's not directly in the book's purpose - after all the standard Python distribution includes all the references you need. So far, the languages mostly tought in schools are LOGO and stone-age distributions of BASIC (such as GWBASIC or QBASIC...). Even if you overlook the fact that they are way outdated, the most oblivious student can understand that even when these languages were created, they were all useless. It's high time for this situation to change - as Python can be the first language a young person can learn and probably the only one it will ever need!
Rating: 
Summary: Not bad, but...
Review: Can't really describe precisely what's wrong with this book. I've been programming, and picking up languages, for 25 years. This book didn't do anything for me... so I just started writing some code. At some point the light went on and Python was magically easy. Now, as I need to help some other people learn Python I'm looking back through the book and NOW it looks great - covers the key details, describes them well, warns you about pitfalls, etc. In short, everything I'd like to present as a trainer (and I know it grew out of the authors' experiences as trainers). But it didn't work at all for me as a newbie.
Rating:
Summary: Learn Python FAST for experienced programmers
Review: I find this a great book for experienced programmers who have used other languages to get to know Python's unique features very well. The exercises at the end of each chapter with their abstract approach inculcate the concepts very well in the reader's mind as opposed to a 'learn by implementing "supposedly practical" stuff' approach which i believe only contributes to fluff in a book. This book could be aptly named Learn Python in X days where at the end of X days you would truly have a useful and in-depth knowledge of the language but this is also a testament to Python's simplicity and lack of idiosyncracies.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent introduction to Python for experienced programmers
Review: Not recommended for newbie programmers since the authors assume a knowledgeable reader. But for experienced programmers who have used other languages, the excercises at the end of each chapter serve to inculcate unique Python characteristics in your mind quickly. I like the abstract approach better than the wordy 'learn-by-doing-examples' approach which I believe just creates fluff in a book. It would be accurate to call this book a 'Learn Python in X days' and at the end of those X days you can truly say that you do know Python (the language) very well. But this is a testament to Python's simplicity & lack of idiosyncracies as well.
Rating:
Summary: NEW 2nd Edition is better than a 5, revised review
Review: The new 2nd Edition is 10 times better than the 1st Edition, which I reviewed earlier. Please note that the reviews on this 2nd Edition are mixed with the reviews of the poorer 1st Edition. But they should be considered separate books -- because this new one is such a remarkable improvement over the first. This is the BEST BOOK SO FAR FOR UNDERSTANDING PYTHON BASICS AT A DETAILED LEVEL. It is a delight to read, the explanations are very clear, and the material is dense: every paragraph has something technical and interesting to say, at a fair level of depth. For me, this book is the only Python book that sets off a little lightbulb in my head on WHY things work the way they do in Python. Also, this is the best work by Mark Lutz so far. He appears to be the major writer in this book (discussing the Python Core), while David Ascher worked on "the Outer Layers." Ascher also was co-writer on the Python Cookbook. The 1st Edition was superficial in my mind. I had originally ranked the 1st Edition as a 3 out of 5. But this 2nd Edition reflects the authors' training and writing of other books and materials and clearly is a 5 or better. This 2nd Edition takes you through version 2.2 of Python and discusses many aspects of version 2.3. This was very important for me as I wanted to know about the many changes in 2.0 and 2.2. I recommend this book most highly. Its required for learning Python and would make an excellent teacher's reference, particularly great are the exercises with answers and more discussion in the Appendix. John Dunbar
Sugar Land, TX
April, 2004
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