Imp is right, that's a terrible book for someone just getting started. I'd recommend "How to Think Like a (Python) Programmer" available on the web here: http://www.greenteapress.com/thinkpython/
O'Reilly's Learning Python is also an excellent learning tool for the language.
I was about to recommend How to Think Like a Computer Scientist (http://openbookproject.net//thinkCSpy/), which is what I've been using and thoroughly enjoy, until I realized that it's the original version of How to Think Like a (Python) Programmer. Glad to know the new version's out. Hope this clears it up for anyone else wondering why TCSpy hadn't been mentioned yet.
O'Reilly's Learning Python is also an excellent learning tool for the language.