Best Beginners Programming book

this book, written by some guy in Sudan
http://www.code.sd/startprog/index.html
It cracks me up that people recommend python as a first language, you get syntax that is just as easy with Pascal, but has static typing. And Pascal has all the speed of C, it has pointers and a simple class/object system. And it has a nice GUI IDE with Lazarus

Pascal isn't fashionable anymore. It is the Python of the '90s. It's still good, though. I find its syntax saner and quicker to parse than the typical "popular" languages today.