This free, PDF book looks very well done. If you want to learn computer programming and/or the Python language (recommended for programming in general), check out Learn Python the Hard Way.
I actually set off to write something similar once upon a time and this work echoes my effort almost verbatim, as far as I went anyway.
The author has even created a proposed exercises wiki.
Even though I've only spent a few minutes looking at it, I recommend this book and the process it presents.
For many years I worried about a suitable programming language for starting off and learning to program. It seemed like the cupboard was bare. I've now concluded that Python fills that void quite handsomely. I'm excited to hear that Georgia Tech and other schools are now switching to Python for their intro courses.