The Mathematica Book, Fifth Edition -

The book is structured into three primary parts designed to take users from absolute beginners to expert-level programmers:

Includes a comprehensive Reference Guide and an index with over 10,000 entries.

Numerical and symbolic calculations, building basic functions, and an introduction to the notebook interface. Part 2: Principles of Mathematica The Mathematica Book, Fifth Edition

amazon.com/Mathematica-Book-Fifth-Stephen-Wolfram/dp/1579550223">bookstore or library near you, or The Mathematica Book, by Stephen Wolfram

This section serves as a readable tutorial for basic operations. The book is structured into three primary parts

The printed book's content is now archived as part of the online Wolfram Mathematica Documentation Center. How to Use This Guide for Learning

If you want to build your own complex tools, focus on the "Principles" section to understand expression evaluation. The printed book's content is now archived as

This is the "deep dive" into how the language actually works.