Learning Python

I'm currently trying to learn Python. My background with programming is that I took 3 courses in Java during college and wrote a medical scheduling program by myself during high school using VB6 and Access.  I would love to be able to contribute to open source projects, hoping to build a reputation in those communities.

Anyhow, I'm using this text: http://openbookproject.net//thinkCSpy/ch04.html  Is this a good book to use to learn Python given my background?  Also, what's the best IDE for python.

otherwise, python general thread.

the best IDE, obviously, is vim, and the best book is language reference and standard library documentation.
If you expect that after all your Java years, the official docs are shit, fuck you, nikker