For someone already familiar with any programming, Zed Shaw's 'Learn Python the Hard Way' is an excellent resource. If you have the discipline to hammer through it, I believe it is the fastest way to come up to speed with Python.

http://learnpythonthehardway.org/

As someone with a music background, I found this book interesting, as it follows a similar structure to the way you learn an instrument. When learning an instrument, you don't spend days reviewing music theory, you learn the basic notes, then some scales. Then you do that over and over and over until you're proficient. Then you start playing music. LPtHW reminds me of that approach, and it worked really well for me.