[This review was originally posted on April 5, 2021. It was updated on April 23, 2021. I am downgrading the book from three stars to two stars. Additional comments added on April 23 are added in square brackets.]
I give this book a tepid thumbs-up. [Make that a hand gesture of "Eh, so-so.]
I used this book to come up to speed on Python from a dead stop. I have a good deal of experience with other languages (C/C++, Fortran, a bit of Perl, C shell, bash, IDL, maybe one or two others that I have dipped into and since forgotten.) I can't say whether the book is good or not for total programming beginners; it's been too long since I was in that state.
For people like me:
What's good: you can read through it fairly quickly and get an overview of the concepts, syntax, etc., associated with Python. The assumption here is that you are someone who prefers to get an overview from kicking back with a book rather than becoming glazed, leaning over your laptop even longer than you already are, jumping around between web pages.
What's bad: (1) There is no index! (??!??) This is a very grave defect and is the biggest reason that I deducted stars [and that after having the book for a few weeks, I deducted another star]. It seriously limits the usefulness of the book after you have flipped through it. Since one does not get all the concepts clearly just from a quick read, one would wish to refer to it for memory refreshment when trying to get traction. The lack of an index frustrates that and is really a drag; you have to search for what you are looking for, based on the table of contents, recollection and page-flipping. It's tiresome. I wonder if it is a result of rushing to market, or just plain laziness. [This issue has been such a problem and a pain that I am going to look for another book that can serve as a beginner's reference.] (2) Having also watched several excellent Python tutorials from India on YouTube, I can say that this book reads like a screenplay for YouTube tutorials. I couldn't count the number of times the book says, "Let's dive in!" "Let's get started!" Etc.! Etc.! Etc.! (i.e., way too many exclamation points in general) [; very lazy and somewhat condescending writing.] This became annoying. A minor point, certainly; no stars were deducted for this. [I would add that the book is mostly white space with relatively large print. The amount of information is not commensurate with the number of pages.] (3) Very heavy promotion of the RealPython web site. No stars deducted for this, either. Just irritating.
Evidently RealPython got out first with a book on Python3, or at least got out with some linear combination of being early plus having effective SEO. [Either that, or I was lazy and in a hurry when shopping for a book.] If and when the O'Reilly "Learning Python" book (author: Mark Lutz) comes out for Python3, I will buy that. I find the O'Reilly books hold their value as practical references even as you learn whatever skill it is better and better and even as new versions of the particular technology come out - up to a point. This book that I am reviewing won't do that. (BTW, I actually own "Learning Python" for Python 2.3, copyright 2004. But it is too old to be reliable even for basics on Python3. For example, the print() syntax has changed. If *that* doesn't work, then you know a book is out of date!) [This was not meant to be a plug for O'Reilly, just a comparison to books - typical O'Reilly books, for example, but by no means only O'Reilly - that are heftier in terms of information content and hold their value.]
The bottom line: depending on who you are and what your purpose is, this book could be very helpful. [Somewhat helpful.] But be aware of its limitations as you type in your credit card number. [At this point I would recommend looking for something else. Yeah, this can be useful, especially if your employer is buying it, not you, but if it is your money, look for something better. The lack of an index is really a disaster.]
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