First time I had to manually manipulate more than 10 files I decided that I must learn any programming language... After many fruitless attempts (programming is not in my background at all), one colleague recommended me this book in order to have a first approach to the python world. Despite the title, its  'Wax on, wax of' teaching style makes it very easy to follow and, in my opinion, very appropriate for a complete newbie like me. You can find it online for free at

 http://learnpythonthehardway.org/book/ 

Where you can also order the PDF for just 2.99$

I hope it helps

Jordi