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

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at some point people are going to realize that Python does not teach good programming discipline because it is overly abstract. The static compiled nature teaches how to use arrays properly, as something that does not change in size or type during the running of the program. The freedom that dynamic languages like Python give are overly advanced for beginners who will abuse that freedom by not keeping track of types