---
product_id: 4941597
title: "Learn Python the Hard Way: A Very Simple Introduction to the Terrifyingly Beautiful World of Computers and Code (Zed Shaw's Hard Way Series)"
price: "R615"
currency: ZAR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 9
url: https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/4941597-learn-python-the-hard-way-a-very-simple-introduction-to
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region: South Africa
---

# Learn Python the Hard Way: A Very Simple Introduction to the Terrifyingly Beautiful World of Computers and Code (Zed Shaw's Hard Way Series)

**Price:** R615
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- **What is this?** Learn Python the Hard Way: A Very Simple Introduction to the Terrifyingly Beautiful World of Computers and Code (Zed Shaw's Hard Way Series)
- **How much does it cost?** R615 with free shipping
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## Description

Learn Python the Hard Way: A Very Simple Introduction to the Terrifyingly Beautiful World of Computers and Code (Zed Shaw's Hard Way Series): 0787721992332: Computer Science Books @ desertcart.com

Review: Finally, a book that matches my learning style. - 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.
Review: Very good for beginners, more experienced programmer exercise discretion - If you are brand new to programming, this is a great place to start. The author makes it very clear that his intended audience includes those who have little to no programming experience. If you find yourself in that boat, this is a five-star book. If you are like me, and know a language or two already, you may be disappointed. You can still learn some useful things from this book, especially if python is a new language for you, but this book wasn't really written for you. Keep that fact in mind. Go through the first ~15 exercises quickly, then skip to about 40-45. I found the sections between these points to be the least relevant for someone with a fair amount of previous experience. 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. That does not mean this book is for everyone.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #1,756,078 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1,232 in Python Programming #1,586 in Computer Programming Languages |
| Customer Reviews | 4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars (538) |
| Dimensions  | 7.25 x 9.25 x 0.75 inches |
| Edition  | 3rd |
| ISBN-10  | 0321884914 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0321884916 |
| Item Weight  | 1.15 pounds |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 320 pages |
| Publication date  | October 1, 2013 |
| Publisher  | Addison-Wesley Professional |

## Images

![Learn Python the Hard Way: A Very Simple Introduction to the Terrifyingly Beautiful World of Computers and Code (Zed Shaw's Hard Way Series) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81UU5A2VLsL.jpg)
![Learn Python the Hard Way: A Very Simple Introduction to the Terrifyingly Beautiful World of Computers and Code (Zed Shaw's Hard Way Series) - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91GhhzCYNjL.jpg)
![Learn Python the Hard Way: A Very Simple Introduction to the Terrifyingly Beautiful World of Computers and Code (Zed Shaw's Hard Way Series) - Image 3](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71ceI3kmdmL.jpg)
![Learn Python the Hard Way: A Very Simple Introduction to the Terrifyingly Beautiful World of Computers and Code (Zed Shaw's Hard Way Series) - Image 4](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81V4IIts4NL.jpg)
![Learn Python the Hard Way: A Very Simple Introduction to the Terrifyingly Beautiful World of Computers and Code (Zed Shaw's Hard Way Series) - Image 5](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31wSt7QECAL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Finally, a book that matches my learning style.
*by W***S on March 27, 2014*

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.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very good for beginners, more experienced programmer exercise discretion
*by K***N on September 7, 2016*

If you are brand new to programming, this is a great place to start. The author makes it very clear that his intended audience includes those who have little to no programming experience. If you find yourself in that boat, this is a five-star book. If you are like me, and know a language or two already, you may be disappointed. You can still learn some useful things from this book, especially if python is a new language for you, but this book wasn't really written for you. Keep that fact in mind. Go through the first ~15 exercises quickly, then skip to about 40-45. I found the sections between these points to be the least relevant for someone with a fair amount of previous experience. 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. That does not mean this book is for everyone.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ I love and hate this book
*by I***G on February 27, 2014*

I have been teaching programming for more than a dozen years and I can't decide if I love or hate this book. The fundamental approach, "type this code and see what happens" is right on the money but all too often the code is followed by the advice to "look up the details on the web." The author does not direct the reader to specific sites (like this book's website -- which contains all the content). Rather, you are sent adrift and told to find your way. As everyone knows the quality of advice across the web is hit or miss and some programming symbols are hard to find. For example in the section called "symbol review" the author suggest looking up operators like ==, {, @, ] or escape sequences like \\ or \a or string formats like %%. I agree that the exercise of trying to find these things is useful but I paid for the book and I want to have the answer key. Similarly, in the section titled "learning to speak object oriented", he introduces randint() but does not say how it works. It is easy to do a web search for it but one of the top five results on Google is just wrong and others require you to know the difference between [0, 10] and (0, 10). The repeated calls to make flashcards makes sense but not if he fails to provide the information that belongs on the cards. While the lack of detailed tables for key features is horrid, the information provided is superb and there are very few typos. Sadly the typos are fixed on the book's website but there is no errata to allow you to correct the hard copy (which will make you nuts when you get to page 133 and there are [ ] where { } belong). I especially appreciated the introduction to Windows PowerShell (and Mac Terminal) which, unlike the rest of the book, does include the definitions for essentially everything covered. So, while the positives (well thought through progressively more difficult code examples) do outweigh the negatives (lack of a glossary and lack of tables with details) ... barely ... you will likely want to get another reference book to cover the holes in the instruction.

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*Store origin: ZA*
*Last updated: 2026-03-25*