Python is a great first programming language, but you need to choose a book that matches your learning style. Find out which of our five essential Python programming books suits you…
Learn Python the Hard Way (Third Edition)
Author: Zed Shaw
Publisher: Addison Wesley
Price: £24.99 (free online)
ISBN: 978-0321884916
The “hard way” is typing it all in until you absorb the syntax and spot mistakes. Works well, but Shaw doesn’t cover Python 3.
Program Arcade Games: With Python and Pygame
Author: Dr. Paul Vincent Craven
Publisher: CreateSpace
Price: £21.99 (free online)
ISBN: 978-1500825966
Balances games and programming exercises to keep the learner going. Very popular: available in several languages on the website.
Writing Idiomatic Python 3.3
Author: Jeff Knupp
Publisher: CreateSpace
Price: £13.97
ISBN: 978-1482374810
Get pythonic from the start: concise guide to idiomatic code; best after another text, but suits some brave learners.
Dive Into Python 3
Author: Mark Pilgrim
Publisher: APress
Price: £35.49 (free online)
ISBN: 978-1430224150
Dives straight into code then the explanations follow. A concise but comprehensive start that will appeal to independent study types.
Learning Python – 5th Edition
Author: Mark Lutz
Publisher: O’Reilly
Price: £43.50
ISBN: 978-1449355739
Comprehensive doorstop (1600 pages); great for programmers new to Python and (Object Orientation). Covers Python 2.7 and 3.3.
