David M. Beazley 早在1996年就開始使用Python編程。在洛斯阿莫斯國傢實驗室工作期間，他教會很多誌願者用Python編寫科學計算軟件。他創辦的Dabeaz 公司提供軟件開發、培訓和谘詢服務，專長於Python、Ruby、Perl等動態編程語言的實際應用。他是Python軟件基金會的會員。

Python is a remarkably powerful, yet a simple programming language that has become a highly valuable software development tool for many computing professionals. With the recent release of version 2, Python is becoming more robust and developers are begging for their favorite resource to be updated. Python developers talk about nothing else when it comes to Python documentation--they know Python Essential Reference is the best. Python Essential Reference, Second Edition, concisely describes the Python programming language and its large library of standard modules, collectively known as the Python programming environment. It is arranged into four major parts. First, a brief tutorial and introduction is presented, then an informal language reference will cover lexical conventions, functions, statements, control flow, datatypes, classes, and execution models. The third section covers the Python library, and the final section covers the Python C API that is used to write Python extensions. All the code used in the book is available at www.newriders.com. This book is best for the customers because it is highly focused and clearly provides the things a reader needs to know to best utilize Python. It is intended for programmers who have experience with other programming languages such a C or C++. It is for the serious programmer who does not want a basic introductory to the language.