Rating: 

It starts off with background information about Python. What is it, where did it come from, how do you start Python programs etc. Then it continues with the basic principles of how Python works. Python's basis differs quite a bit from other popular languages and the book makes the differences easy to understand.
It then continues to the actual programming syntax. By now, you'll have read some 200 pages of background information so you'll understand how python works before you start writing anything in it. I find this to be a big plus, because the examples make perfect sense, you don't have to translate the code into some understanding of how Python works, it just falls into place naturally because of what you learned before.
The book then deals with another big thing in Python: modules. Again everything is explained very clearly, you don't get the feeling that you need to be an ace programmer to understand it.
The last segment of the book deals with OOP and I'm glad to see that even here the author does not assume that you're an expert already. He takes time to explain how OOP works in theory, and then procedes to demonstrate how to do it in Python.

Are there any downsides? Not really. I'm an experienced programmer but I didn't notice the book skipping any required information.

Alltogether I think this book is a great start for anyone who want's to learn Python. It's detailed, entertaining and easy to read.