Zed Shaw's Hard Way Series

The Hard Way Series method of instruction emphasizes making things as the best way to get started in many computer science topics. Each book is specifically designed with short, understandable exercises to take readers through a course of instruction that creates working software. The exercises are thoroughly tested with real students before publication to verify that they work, thus increasing your chance of a successful learning outcome. The accompanying video walks you through the code in each exercise. Zed also adds a bit of humor and inside jokes that will make you laugh while you're learning.