Mr. Shaw's book used to be a decent starter reference. I liked his step by step short chapters, but there were some red flags. For example, he spent several ear

Mr. Shaw's book used to be a decent starter reference. I liked his step by step short chapters, but there were some red flags. For example, he spent several early chapters on string formatters, which are neither terribly common nor useful for a beginner. Other key concepts like iteration were not adequately explained, or introduced far too late in the progression. Besides the demagoguery, this new piece displays shocking ignorance of basic CS concepts. I will now actively warn my students against consulting his work. Thanks to eeveee for a detailed rebuttal, which displays an appropriate amount of reprobation, given the original's caustic tone. Python is an incredible community effort. It deserves support and constructive participation.