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If you want to learn Python, this is the book you need. The author writes in a very clear and fluid way, so you'll never be bored. The exercises at the end of the chapters are also great.

Pretty much everyone who programs Python started with this book (the online version), so you can't go wrong, it's the Python "Bible".

If you are already a programmer by trade, but haven't yet started to learn Python, get this book either here or from the web site (just search to find it), and dive in. Each chapter starts with an small example program that actually does useful stuff, most of which is foreign to you when you start reading. A few pages later, you'll understand the whole program, and get a good feeling for what "Pythonic" programming is all about.

The author really understands the subject matter, and he really understands what is needed by readers who already have a strong programming background. Once you've worked your way through this book, you'll understand 1) Python, 2) Good programming practices in Python, and 3) Why Python has become such a success amongst professional programmers.

NOTE: If you don't already know programming, hold off on this book until later. If the whole topic of programming is brand new to you, go instead for Mark Lutz' book, "Learning Python (2nd edition)". Mark covers in great detail what could go wrong as you try things out. He insures you won't get lost. To do that, he has to be very explicit about everything. Experienced programmers don't need nearly so much detail, as they already know most of the stuff in the Lutz book, and will find themselves skipping trememdous amounts. These are the folks for whom this book is written.

I am finding this to be a great book for evangelization of others to the ranks of Python maniac.

This book is great! His style is very challenging and fun. You You are thrown right in just over your head each chapter and thought to swim at this depth.

He shows you essential tricks to writing useful object oriented Python code right from the start.

This is not an exhaustive text relating every aspect of the language but rather a quick in-depth guild to writing effective code using the full power of Python.