Head First Programming by David Griffiths and Paul Barry

Summary: learn programming ;)

I have read Head First series for quite some time. These books are just amazing. My first book was Head First Servlets and JSP and I liked the series from the very beginning. Now, I have few of them on my book shelf – I like the style of the series: well served knowledge. I know how to program and by reading Head First Programming I din’t meant to actually learn programming – I wanted to get into Python. And I think, this is quite good way to achieve that. You not only get the idea of what programming is, you also learn basics of Python. This is a good start for people who have never used it. David and Paul go through all important topics for every beginner: branches, data structures, functions, file access, basic of the GUI and much, much more.

The way book is organized is very similar to other titles from Head First series. Authors utilize recent concepts related to cognitive science – not only what, but also how is important. By introducing image based explanations (we humans base our cognition on pictures) and by explaining everything with very basic language (authors are not afraid that avoiding academic fuss will make them look “less competent”) David and Paul go straight into what is most important – knowledge presented such way, that everybody can learn it. I know people who doesn’t like this series – they assume that books like these are simply silly. They have right to think that way. In my opinion, Head First Programming is as good as other titles from Head First series, and if you want to lear Python and learn how to program – you have to buy it.

Product page:

O’Reilly (print): Head First Programming
O’Reilly (e-book): Head First Programming
Amazon (in Books): Head First Programming
Amazon (Kindle): Head First Programming
Safari Books Online: Head First Programming