LLMs are here and seem to be the go-to for everything; however, there is still space for the traditional methods. Ironically, this is exactly what I said in my speech at the AI World Congress 2025, and Deep Learning with Python, Third Edition illustrates that point perfectly.
This substantial volume - around 600 pages across 20 chapters - delivers a comprehensive and structured journey into modern deep learning. As a 3rd edition, it feels mature and refined. The opening chapter provides clear, high-level definitions of fundamental concepts, offering a gentle introduction to the principles behind machine learning, deep learning’s rise in popularity, and where the field is heading.
From there, the book moves rapidly into practical territory. It covers all the major frameworks - Keras, TensorFlow, PyTorch, and JAX - supported by plenty of code examples that allow concepts to be applied immediately. It does not shy away from breadth either: image classification, time series modelling, object detection, and, as is now essential, transformers, all receive well-structured treatment. Each chapter ends with a concise, very useful summary that reinforces understanding and highlights key takeaways.
A standout section for this reader was “Best Practices for the Real World”, which provides grounded guidance on hyperparameter tuning, ensembles, and quantisation. These topics are often overlooked in introductory texts but are essential for real deployments.
Some reasonable Python knowledge is needed, but the book remains approachable. It suits beginners aiming to break into deep learning as well as experienced practitioners looking to broaden their toolkit.
Highly recommended.