15 Best Python Programming Books

Some of the Best Python Programming Books available are the following:
A. For Beginners:

1. “Python Crash Course” by Eric Matthews: An Introduction to Computer Science” by John Zelle.
3. “Head First Python” by Paul Barry.
4. “Learning with Python: How to Think Like a Computer Scientist” by Allen Downey
5. “A Byte of Python” by Swaroop Chitlur.
6. “The Quick Python Book” by Vernon L. Ceder,
7. “Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python” by Al Sweigart
8. “Effective Computation in Physics: Field Guide to Research with Python” by Anthony Scopatz, Kathryn D. Huff
B. For Intermediate Level:
9. “Learn Python the Hard Way” by Zed A. Shaw
10. “Python Tricks: A Buffet of Awesome Python Features” by Dan Bader
C. Advance Level:
11. “Core Python programming” by Wesley J Chun
12. “Fluent Python: Clear, Concise, and Effective Programming” by Luciano Ramalho
13. “Effective Python: 59 Ways to Write Better Python” by Brett Slatkin
14. “Python Cookbook: Recipes for Mastering Python 3” by David Beazley & Brian K. Jones
15. “Python in Practice: Create Better Programs Using Concurrency, Libraries, and Patterns (Developer’s Library)” by Mark Summerfield

[II] Python Programming Today

No doubt, Python is the best and most widely used programming language in the world now. Python is a good programming language for beginners too. It is a high-level language, which means a programmer focuses on what to do than how to do it. Writing programs in Python takes lesser time than in some other languages. So in today’s world demand for the best Python Programming books is increasing day by day.
[III] Python versus other coding languages
Python developed from experiences of the other programming languages like C, C++,
Lisp, Java, Perl, etc. Python is an open-source programming language. A Dutch programmer named Guido van Rossum made Python in 1991. Is there any relation between the ‘largest snake Python’ and ‘Python programming language’? No, there is not. It was a tribute to the British comedy group Monty Python by the ‘father developer’ Guido van Rossum. Actually, his playful approaches to tutorials and reference materials, such as referring to spam and eggs instead of the standard foo and bar, inspired him to make a tribute by naming the new programming language Python.
[IV] What Python Is?
While searching the best Python programming books we must understand, briefly, what Python is. Python is an interpreted language. Python is the most elegant and robust programming language. It delivers both the power and general applicability of traditional compiled languages with the ease of use of simpler scripting and interpreted languages. It allows the programmer to get the job done by the use of String, List, Tuples, Dictionary, etc., and then read what he wrote.
Interpreted languages do not need to be compiled to run. A program called an interpreter runs Python code on almost any kind of computer. This means that a programmer can change the code and quickly see the results. This also means Python is slower than a compiled language like C because it is not running machine code directly.
[V] Contemporary Application of Python Language
Python is the most preferred programming language for the study of Artificial Intelligence(AI), Machine Learning, Robotics, Data Analytics, Web Development, etc. These are the latest software technologies to rule the whole world now and in years to come. According to recent studies, 65% to 70% of the software developers engaged in the above-mentioned field, code in Python. So, it is clear that a large section of the engineering students, industry persons, e-commerce experts, website developers are going to enter into a field of study, in the coming days, to master Python as early as possible. Learning the basics of Python will be the minimum criteria for the study of technology in the near future. In this context, we will discuss here some of the best Python Programming books to learn the basics and as well as an advanced level of Python programming.
[VI] Best Python Programming Books For The Beginners
Here is a nice book for beginners. It is :
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One of the best Python learning books for beginners is: “Python Crash Course” This book is written by Eric Matthews. The book has 560 pages. The first chapter of this book discusses the basics of Python programming and introduces the concept of the data type. Easy and brief launching of the concepts of String, Lists, Tuples, Loops, Dictionary is here with easy examples. Guido van Rossum, the creator of the Python language, describes this book as “Disguised as a Python textbook, it’s really an introduction to programming, using Python as the preferred medium for beginners.” Who can say otherwise?!
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Here is a brilliant book, written by John Zelle. It is: “Python Programming: An Introduction to Computer Science” (Third edition available now) John introduces to the students, computer science as such. He creates a bridge between mathematics, computer science, and Python programming. The first edition of the book was published in the year 2004 and the second edition of 2010. As a consequence, The third edition of this book transforms the application from Python 2 to the Python 3 version.
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‘Head First Python’ by Paul Barry is a magnificent book for beginners. It is a book of 494 pages. The complete name is: “A Brain friendly Guide: Head First Python” According to the writer, while writing the book he has followed the latest research of cognitive science and learning theory. ‘Head First Python’ emphasized a visually reach format, not a text-heavy approach. In this book, more than 80 activities of conversational style were included and exercise was created that is challenging-yet-do-able which is being popular every corner now.
Multiple learning styles were adopted simultaneously to recognize the variety of learning patterns and abilities. Hundreds of interesting were used to make programming an exciting venture. The book follows the Python 3 version. The author Paul Barry is a lecturer at the Institute of Technology, Carlow, Ireland. He is an experienced programmer and author of many other books.

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“Learning with Python: How to Think Like a Computer Scientist” by Allen Downey, is another important book for the beginners. This book is an introduction to computer science using the Python programming language. It covers the basics of computer programming, including variables and values, functions, conditionals and control flow, program development, and debugging.
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Another nice and popular book on Python for the beginners is: “A Byte of Python” by Swaroop Chitlur. The author is an engineer at Automatic Labs in San Francisco. Many of the reviewers are of the opinion that if all you know about computers is how to save text files, then this is the book for you. “A Byte of Python” will teach you how to use Python 3 and provide the guidance to adapt you to the older and more common Python 2. It’s an ideal book for an easy and progressing way of learning Python. It had many positive feedbacks for its simplicity. This book is/was being used as instructional material in various educational institutions like ‘Programming With Python’ course at Harvard University, ‘Principles of Programming Languages’ course at Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, ‘Basic Concepts of Computing’ course at the University of California, Davis, ‘Introduction to Application Programming’ course at Boston University, ‘Introduction to Computer Science and Programming’ and hundreds of other colleges and university.

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“The Quick Python Book” by Vernon L. Ceder is a very interesting book for different reasons. In chapter 1, The Quick Python Book communicates the readers why they should or shouldn’t choose Python as a coding language. Chapter 2 is all about how to install it onto the computer and setting up the environment in Linux, Apple OS, and Windows. Chapter 3 is an overview of the language. Chapter 4 is an introduction to the basics of Python. Chapters 5–8 discuss string manipulation — lists, tuples, sets, strings, dictionaries, and control flow (if, else, and elif statements). The string manipulation of this language is nicely written. The whole book is presented in an accessible manner.
As a manager, one only needs chapters 1–8. If the reader is an engineer or student, then he will need to read through his/her way to the final chapter. He/she will be introduced to file systems and directories, reading and writing files, exceptions, and error handling. This is a nice book.
[VII] Best Python Programming Books: Intermediate & Advance Level
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“Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python” by Al Sweigart. AI Weeigart is an author, and software developer in San Francisco. He has written four Python programming books that are available to read online free.
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Here is a book:
“Effective Computation in Physics: Field Guide to Research with Python” by Anthony Scopatz, Kathryn D. Huff.

Many physicists today are taking the route of software developers as part of their study and research, but software development is not always an easy job even for physicists. This practical book teaches essential software development skills to help the reader accomplish nearly any aspect of research in a physics-based field.
The book is written by two PhDs in nuclear engineering. This book includes practical examples drawn from a working knowledge of physics concepts. In four parts, this book includes:
1. Jump into Python, the command line, data containers, functions, flow control and logic, and classes and objects
2. Getting It Done: Learn about regular expressions, analysis, and visualization, storing data in files and HDF5, important data structures in physics, computing in parallel, and deploying software
3. Getting It Right: Build pipelines and software, learn to use local and remote version control, and debug and test your code
4. Getting It Out There: Document your code, process and publish your findings, and collaborate efficiently; dive into software licenses, ownership, and copyright procedures.
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Here is a nice book. “Learn Python 3 the Hard Way” by Zed A. Shaw

Another important book is “Learn Python 3 the Hard Way’ by Zed A. Shaw (3rd Edition). The book has 52 chapters. This book is actually made for the intermediate level: not for the beginners, nor advanced. In every chapter, there are intense exercises, which push the reader/student to enter into the complexity of the subject. First, the student has to type the code accurately (no copy-paste), then to run the function — to find the fault, he makes- then set other activities based on it. This book is for those students, who are determined to grasp Python. For them, it gives brilliant and intense course-work. The book follows Python 2.
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• “Python Tricks: A Buffet of Awesome Python Features” by Dan Bader. If you are in search of a book that will help you to develop your lesser-known parts in Python, you should read this book.

If you are experienced with legacy versions of Python, the book will get you up to speed with modern patterns and features introduced in Python 3 and backported to Python 2.
• If you are familiar with other programming languages and you want to get up to speed with Python, you must pick up the tips to become a confident and effective Pythonista.
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If we discuss very comprehensive and in-depth learning of Python Programming, we must refer to “Core Python programming” by Wesley J Chun(2nd Edition), It is 1120 pages book, comprising of 23 chapters.
“There has been a lot of good buzz around Wesley Chun’s Core Python Programming. It turns out that all the buzz is well earned. I think this is the best book currently available for learning Python. I would recommend Chun’s book over Learning Python (O’Reilly), Programming Python (O’Reilly), or The Quick Python Book (Manning).” David Mertz, Ph.D., IBM DeveloperWorks®”
This comment is placed here to recognize the significance of this book in the learning of Python programming.
This book deals with the Python 2 version and not Python 3. Chun wrote in chapter no. 1.3.3. “Python encourages clean code design, high-level structure, and “packaging” of multiple components, all of which deliver the flexibility, consistency, and faster development time required as projects expand in breadth and scope.”
Chun wrote, regarding the advantages of Python, “As the amount of Python code increases in your project, you will still be able to organize it logically by separating your code into multiple files, or modules, and be able to access code from one module and attributes from another. And what is even better is that Python’s syntax for accessing modules is the same for all modules, whether you access one from the Python standard library, one you created just a minute ago, or even an extension you wrote in another language! Using this feature, you feel like you have just “extended” the language for your own needs and you actually have.”
The book gives the solution to each and every exercise at the end of the book.
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Another nice book is “Fluent Python: Clear, Concise, and Effective Programming” by Luciano Ramalho.

Author Luciano Ramalho influences your learning significantly through Python’s core language features and libraries and shows you how to make your code shorter, faster, and more readable at the same time. The book is available here.

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“ Effective Python: 59 Ways to Write Better Python” by Brett Slatkin.
This book is a collection of 59 independent articles that build on a basic understanding of Python to teach Pythonic best practices, lesser-known functionality, and built-in tools. The topics range in complexity, beginning with the simple concept of being aware of which Python version you’re using, and ending with the more complicated, and typically ignored, the concept of identifying memory leaks.

The articles are grouped into the following 8 chapters:
1. Pythonic Thinking: introduces the best ways to perform common tasks, while taking advantage of how Python is implemented
2. Functions: clarifies nuanced differences of Python functions and outlines how to use functions to clarify intention, promote reuse, and reduce bugs
3. Classes and Inheritance: outlines the best practices when working with Python classes
4. Metaclasses and Attributes: illuminates the somewhat mysterious topic of metaclasses, teaching you how to use them to create intuitively functionality
5. Concurrency and Parallelism: explains how to know to write multi-threaded applications in Python
6. Built-in Modules: introduces a few of Python’s lesser-known built-in libraries to make your code more useful and reliable
7. Collaboration: discusses proper documentation, packaging, dependency, and virtual environments
8. Production: covers the topics of debugging, optimization, testing, and memory management
If you have a solid foundation in Python and want to fill in holes, deepen your understanding, and learn some of the less obvious features of Python, it would be a great book for you.
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“Python Cookbook: Recipes for Mastering Python 3” by David Beazley & Brian K. Jones. What makes this book stands out is its level of detail. Code cookbooks are typically designed as short and sweet manuals to illustrate slick ways of doing everyday tasks. In this case, each recipe in Python Cookbook has an extended code solution as well as an author’s discussion of some particular elements of the solution. Each recipe starts out with a clear problem statement, such as, “You want to write a decorator that adds an extra argument to the calling signature of the wrapped function.” It then jumps into a solution that uses modern, idiomatic Python 3 code, patterns, and data structures, often spending four to five pages discussing the solution.
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“Python in Practice: Create Better Programs Using Concurrency, Libraries, and Patterns (Developer’s Library)” by Mark Summerfield

Mark Summerfield focuses on four key themes: design patterns for coding elegance, faster processing through concurrency, and compiled Python (Cython), high-level networking, and graphics. He identifies well-proven design patterns that are useful in Python, illuminates them with expert-quality code, and explains why some object-oriented design patterns are irrelevant to Python. He also explodes several counterproductive myths about Python programming — showing, for example, how Python can take full advantage of multicore hardware. All examples, including three complete case studies, have been tested with Python 3.3 (and, where possible, Python 3.2 and 3.1) and crafted to maintain compatibility with future Python 3.x versions. All code has been tested on Linux, and most code has also been tested on OS X and Windows.
These are the best Python programming books available now.