Python: Developer's Handbook: Lessa, Andre DOS Santos: 9780672319945: Amazon.com: Books (original) (raw)

I'm not quite as impressed with this book as the first reviewer. I've just begun it, but so far I notice:
* It's rather shallow and upbeat in its reviews of Grail (a Python web browser that seems not being actively developed, but which this book gives a nice one page listing of features for) and Zope (a web server, with a similar one page upbeat review here, which is a rather complex and intriguing beast, in my view).
* It's comparisons of Python with other languages is also shallow. For example, under the intriguing subhead of "Python Versus C/C++", it has about 15 lines total, which make the points that (1) Python arrays "don't have the same problems", (2) Python manages memory, for fewer errors, (3) Python checks array references, and (4) Python requires less code. Whoopee - I don't think much time or genius was spent on considering this ...
* It's a heavy book - in the recent tradition of selling books by weight. The density of considered information per page is modest, and the style of writing doesn't pack alot in per word.
* The style of writing is ever so slightly off - seems that the author likely has another language besides English that he speaks well (unlike myself - English only ;). Mind you the English is fine - just slightly strange phrasing at times.
* The production of the book seems fine.
* Alot of stuff is covered (the index alone is just short of 100 pages !), but what I've poked at so far seems a tad more superficial and pedestrian than I would like.
Seems that the book was pretty clearly written by constructing an outline that covered every topic, well organized, then some modest number of words were provided, per each topic, in a disciplined effort, with good editing. But the cheery lightness ultimately depresses me (perhaps I am just a darker soul ...).
I don't think this book will replace the awesome Essential Reference. I might even send this one back, which I don't do that often at Amazon -- more because I don't want to spend the 2 inches of shelf space on a book that lacks any special value for me, than because of the money.