Compared to most (if not all) programming books, the approach this book takes is unconventional and rewarding. The book starts off with the basics one would expect: strings, text, etc. The difference is, the author does not explain what any on the syntax really means. In fact he says more than once (to paraphrase): Don't worry if you don't understand any of this, just do the exercise (directly copy code from the book) and keep moving. After each exercise, there is a short study drill where you are typically told to make specific changes to the code. Shadows of explanations are sometimes contained in these drills. The end of each exercise is also followed by a QA of "Common Student Questions". Further, early on the author gives some interesting tips for examining the code you just wrote (and probably don't understand) that I had never thought of before and are quite enlightening. In exercise 5, the author explicitly states, "The problem with teaching you programming is that to understand many of my descriptions, you need to know how to do programming already. The way I solve this is I make you do something, and then I explain it later." I cannot agree with this method of teaching a programming language more. At least for my own learning style, it is ideal. As the book progresses, the logical order the exercises are layed out causing things to come together even before he get's into the detailed explanation. Once those detailed explanations are finally introduced, covered, and your are done with this book, you will be better off than with any other beginning book at which point you can comfortably move into more advanced material. A quick note on the authors writing style: he can be very sarcastic and sometimes sounds almost a bit pessimistic, but it is all with humorous undertones that make the book fun to read. I cannot recommend this book enough. After I submit this review, I am on my way to see if he has more books in "Hard Way" series.
EDIT: Regarding complaints of the Kindle version. This happens to be the version of I am reviewing. I you want to use this side by side with an editor and a shell, you may have to shrink the font size as you web browser will (naturally) attempt to squeeze the text into whatever size you narrow your browsers width to. Personally, I am using a tiling window manager under Linux so I can shift things around as needed on a single monitor without decreasing the font size. Another solution is to use two monitors. I don't know what it looks like on my Kindle Paperwhite and don't have it with me at the moment.
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
FREE delivery Saturday, February 7 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
FREE delivery Saturday, February 7 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
$3.98 delivery Tuesday, February 10
$3.98 delivery Tuesday, February 10
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Follow the author
Get new release updates & improved recommendations
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
Frequently bought together
This item: Learn Python the Hard Way: A Very Simple Introduction to the Terrifyingly Beautiful World of Computers and Code (Zed Shaw's Hard Way Series)
$14.22
Get it as soon as Saturday, Feb 7
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
+
$37.26
Get it Feb 10 - 11
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
+
$30.85
Get it as soon as Wednesday, Feb 25
Sold by Hemmenity and ships from Amazon Fulfillment.Total price: $00
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
Deals on related products
Page 1 of 1Start over
From the Publisher
A Very Simple Introduction to the Terrifyingly Beautiful World of Computers and Code
|
The Next Step for New Python Programmers
|
Quickly Get Productive with Python
|
Become a Python Programmer and Have Fun Doing It
|
The Hands-On, Example-Rich Introduction to Pandas Data Analysis in Python
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer Reviews |
1,039
|
125
|
47
|
78
|
316
|
| Price | $20.93 | $37.26 | $39.99 | $42.77 | $39.49 |
| User Experience Level | New to programming and/or Python | Perfect for everyone who’s already started working with Python, including junior developers and seasoned Python programmers upgrading to Python 3.6+ | Although this book is for people who may be new to programming altogether, it also caters to people who want to know how Python works and how it’s fundamentally different 'under the hood.' | For absolute beginners who’ve never written a line of code. | Any level of Python experience (none to fluent) New to data analysis. |
| Learning Approach | You’ll learn Python by working through brilliantly crafted exercises. Read them. Type their code precisely. (No copying and pasting!) Fix your mistakes. Watch the programs run. | Hands-on - you’ll go far beyond the basics and learn how to analyze a concept, idea, or problem and then how to deisgn solutions by working through 52 crafted projects. Also includes access to 12 hours of video files. | Takes you by the hand and teaching by examples that are explained line by line. There is heavy emphasis on examples that are fun and useful, including games, graphics, database applications, file storage, puzzles, and more. You will learn how to think 'Pythonically' and avoid common 'gotchas'. | Friendly, easy, full-color. Each chapter will tell you a bit more about programming. It will show you how to do something, and then invite you to make something of your own by using what you’ve learned. | Introduces key concepts through simple but practical examples, incrementally building on them to solve more difficult, real-world problems. Brings together practical knowledge and insight for solving real problems with Pandas, even if you’re new to Python data analysis. |
| Key Topics | Organizing and writing code; Object-orinted programming; Basic game development; Basic web development | Quick hacks; Data structures; Parsing text; SQL and object relational mapping | In addition to Python fundamentals, this book pays a lot of attention to intermediate and even advanced features, including list comprehension, generators, multidimensional lists (matrixes), and decorators. | Programming fundamentals Advanced programming Useful Python | "Tidy" data; Cleaning and munging data; How to fit your data to models ; Fitting models in other languages |
| Python Versions Covered | Python 3 | Python 3.6 | Python 3.0 with notes about adapting examples to Python 2.0. | Python 2.7 Python 3 | Python 3 (Anaconda) |
About the author
Related products with free delivery on eligible orders
Sponsored | Try Prime for unlimited fast, free shipping
Page 1 of 1Start over
Customers say
Customers find the book effective for learning Python, with one noting how it breaks down concepts in simple terms. The information quality and writing style receive mixed feedback, with some praising the superb content while others find the writing style somewhat condescending. Customers disagree on whether the book is suitable for programming beginners. The book's pacing is criticized for being outdated, and customers disagree on the author's quality.
AI Generated from the text of customer reviews
Select to learn more
50 customers mention learning style, 44 positive, 6 negative
This is a great way to learn Python. Its the old fashioned way, but it really drills things into your head....Read more
This book presents an excellent way to learn the Python language. I have not finished with the book yet (because it allows me to go at my own pace)....Read more
This book has a good workflow for learning Python. I bought it for a class, and it was very clear to me.Read more
...Zed draws you in with 50-odd byte-sized (pun intended) practical lessons, rigorously presented, easy to follow, personable, and complete....Read more
22 customers mention ease of learning, 17 positive, 5 negative
Greatness. Very direct and this books makes you think about what you are doing and why. Zed does not tell you or gives you just enough....Read more
A nice little introduction.Read more
Extremely easy to follow, I will say.. Some of the material is dated.. Like using %s and %d..... Google using .format instead... Other than that,...Read more
I don't know to whom the book is for I only know that it is not for beginners....Read more
13 customers mention information quality, 8 positive, 5 negative
I'm a beginner and this book breaks the info down great.Read more
...You will not find support for what you are trying to learn. No answers provided after about half way into the text....Read more
Great easy to read book on Python. Many examples. Easy to understandRead more
...With that being said it does have a lot of good information. I recommend this book as a companion book to help round out your reference guides.Read more
13 customers mention writing style, 7 positive, 6 negative
Good book simply written. if you follow the book you will learn, step by step.Read more
This book was written for the earlier version of Python and I need a guide for the most current version.Read more
...I'm 2/3 into the book and I feel very confident writing out the examples and then writing my own versions of the samples to fully understand what I...Read more
...The author's style is somewhat condescending; at best it's very abrupt and terse....Read more
12 customers mention programming knowledge, 6 positive, 6 negative
...helped me understand the terminal a lot better and helped me start to grasp how programming works. Highly recommended for beginners.Read more
This definitely is not a book for programmers attempting to learn a new language. It might be good for someone who hasn't programmed before ...Read more
...I know php and JavaScript decently well but this book is great for any level of programmer (beginner to expert)....Read more
...This is definitely not a book for developers with even basic knowledge of programming concepts who want to learn an up-to-date version of a new...Read more
8 customers mention effectiveness, 5 positive, 3 negative
Helped so much. I don’t know any programming and this helped sooooo much!Read more
...Program first and learn later, I find this to be ineffective because you are just mindlessly programming without learning the definitions of strings...Read more
...'ll work on your system, and the method of teaching by doing is extremely effective, quick, and actually pretty fun....Read more
...that it chunks up the lessons into short, manageable parts that all work together....Read more
10 customers mention pacing, 2 positive, 8 negative
...A quick note on the authors writing style: he can be very sarcastic and sometimes sounds almost a bit pessimistic, but it is all with humorous...Read more
...Plus, it’s outdated as it is based on Python 2. You will not find support for what you are trying to learn....Read more
...great (and I would give it 5 stars for the book itself), but it's definitely outdated. Get the new version: "Learn Python 3 the Hard Way"....Read more
...system, and the method of teaching by doing is extremely effective, quick, and actually pretty fun....Read more
7 customers mention author quality, 2 positive, 5 negative
...At the most critical point of understanding in the book the author drops the ball. Plus, it’s outdated as it is based on Python 2....Read more
...In a few places, the author offers dubious advice. In Exercise 36, he advises "do not use a 'debugger'", for example....Read more
...I want to reiterate that I am giving this 5 stars because the author does a good job of accomplishing his stated purpose in writing the book....Read more
...The author discusses extremely complex topics almost lazily, just throws them out there and tells you to figure it out....Read more
East to understand for beginners
Great book if you want to study Python from scratch. Easy language with examples.
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.
Top reviews from other countries
- DarthVader 👀Reviewed in India on September 19, 2020
Excellent 👌🏾
The book is a great introductory text to python. Unlike the title, the book provides an easy approach to python learning.DarthVader 👀Excellent 👌🏾
Reviewed in India on September 19, 2020
The author puts you in the driving seat, contrary to the popular approach of rote learning. You can only learn a new task if you’re motivated; hence the author places the onus on you. Hence he leaves quite a few things for the reader to do and find out, which I’m sure helps learning.
I don’t have a background in computer science at my graduate level. Still I am able to follow the book very easily.
That’s the beauty of Zed Shaw method 👌🏾
#Cons:
None for the book
However the seller is showing inflated MRP in order to make you believe you’re getting a good bargain. I was shown a high price and a discount when placing order; However I got the book at the MRP (photo enclosed).
Amazon needs to discredit such sellers and practices on its portal
Images in this review
-
Cliente AmazonReviewed in Spain on February 22, 2017
Se aprende de verdad
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase - Maurizio VadalaReviewed in Canada on July 21, 2015
I started this course through their website as it was ...
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase -
Marcus K.Reviewed in Germany on January 13, 2016
Gar nicht mal so "hard"
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase - EmanueleReviewed in Italy on February 23, 2019
A must have for Python learning
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
