Rating: 
Summary: my most frequently used python book
Review: This is a great book. About 2/3 of the book covers the python library, but is more thorough and has more and better examples than the free online python library reference. One of python's strengths is that its standard 'out of the box' library is much more comprehensive than that "other" scripting language. The other 1/3 of the book contains a brief tutorial and comprehensive language reference. This is the python book that I use the most, and unless you want tons of very long examples like some of the other python books have, this is the only one you need.
Rating: 
Summary: Well, it looks pretty
Review: This book is bad. And not just normal, mostly available online bad, but really bad. Is it technically correct? Yes. Does it cover the basics well? Yes. But to call itself an "essential" reference is going too far.My main complaints come from the fact that half the modules refer the reader to the online documentation. I don't mind the fact that it replicates the online docs -- there's something to be said for printed manuals. However for many modules the author simply duplicated the example and refers the reader to the website. This wouldn't be so bad if the examples were always self-documenting, but they're not. The second frustration with this book comes from it's unusability as a reference. This stems from the fact that the index and table of contents point to the wrong pages. Or simply pages that don't exist. I don't know if this happened during the transition to the second edition, but it's unexcusable. And it's not just a few -- it's a lot. In conclusion, this is not a book that will see much use in my office. In fact, I think I'm going to put it out of sight -- just looking at it annoys me.
Rating: 
Summary: Doesnt add much to online documentation
Review: I am an experienced programmer and I wanted to get up to speed quickly. Much of the information has been taken almost verbatim from the online docs. Language description is scant, for example the explanation of variable scoping rules left me with many unanswered questions. Much of the book is taken up with library descriptions . . not very exciting. Another thing . . the type size is tiny.
Rating:
Summary: Definitly a good book, but !!
Review: I don't get why everybody is so enthusiastic about it. Its definitly a good book, but it doesn't deliver much on top of the online documentation freely distributed with Python. The Tutorial(first 99p.) is bit more verbose and better to understand, and the library documentation(main part of the book) is even more concise than the online version (which also can have benefits).
If the Online Documentation would not exist, I'd definitly give 5 stars, but with it alive and always uptodate (Python 2.2 is out), you don't get much for your money. So this book is for you, if you prefer a solid book to an online documentation and want something under your cushion ; )
Besides you shouldl't be new to programming
Rating:
Summary: An excellent book, but you'll want the second edition!
Review: Mr. Beazley has written an execllent reference for Python. Although the bulk of this book is taken from the library reference, the book's formatting and extra research make it a far quicker and more informative reference for all those Python details that are so easy to forget. The section on the language itself is phenomenally short, yet covers every core feature of the language succinctly and clearly. Once you know Python, this book will make sure you never forget a thing.
Rating: 
Summary: Almost perfect...
Review: Since I've had this book, I've used it every day. The book does an excellent job of being concise but still providing enough information to be useful (online python docs are sometimes a bit too sparse for some modules for my taste). My only complaint is that the table of contents is a bit off. When looking up a module you have to add between 1 and 4 pages to the page number listed to find some sections. Annoying, but doesn't really detract much from the usefulness of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Simple and Concise
Review: This book is extemely well written. It provides a brief section on the basic structures of Python within the first 20 pages, allowing experienced programmers to jump right in. It then provides 80 pages of additional built-in constructs and finishes the book out with coverage of many useful modules. It also provides good info on how to extend Python with C++ modules. The writing is clear and helpful. For the price, I don't think you can beat this book.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: This is the best programming book I have ever seen. Its not
for a beginning programmer, but if you know how to code, its
absolutely fantastic. The examples are wonderfully succinct
so you don't have to read a lot of code to see exactly how to
do something. But, the best feature is the index. Somehow,
no matter what I look-up it seems to take me to exactly what
I need to know (something very unusual even in good programming books).
Rating:
Summary: My constant companion
Review: As well as I know Python, I find myself using this book constantly. As a technical reviewer, I received the first edition in manuscript form. I had some very tattered pieces of paper by the time I finally got the book. David artfully selected what to explain and what to just list simply, and his examples are usually just what you need.
Rating:
Summary: A book that all my students buy
Review: Dave's Python reference book is listed as a reference book in all my CS classes including Programming Languages and Web Programming. Students may not buy the required texts, but they all have Dave's book.
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