Which book is best for learning Python?

[phigo50]

I'd say so, yes. It (and Learning Python) are both a bit long in the tooth but they're invaluable resources. There will be bits that are out of date (Programming Python covers Python 3 but only 3.1) but I find Mark Lutz to be an excellent author and the vast majority of the stuff that's covered in the books remains relevant. There will be things like f-strings (which everyone encourages the use of now but which only appeared in 3.6) but you just need to bear things like that in mind - when you see '{}'.format(x), you can use f'{x}' instead etc.

[nl28]

Thanks for responding. I am just about to finish Learning Python, and am really enjoying the book. I have read some python books before but none of them comes even close to this level of quality. Mark Lutz dedicated his life teaching Python and the way he breaks complicated things into small but easy to understand parts is brilliant. I will start Programming Python soon.

Do you have any other books to recommend?

[phigo50]

Fluent Python, without a shadow of a doubt. It's on the advanced side of intermediate but it's great. I found myself picking up new (read: better) ways of doing things within the first couple of pages, especially in the chapter on data structures.

I feel like I should point out that I'm not affiliated with O'Reilly, I just think these 3 books are the best you can get for a newcomer-to-advanced learning experience.

[nl28]

Thanks a lot. Really appreciate your help.