A first programming course should not be directed towards learning a particular programming language, but rather at learning to program well; the programming language should get out of the way and serve this goal. The simple, powerful Racket language (related to Scheme) allows us to concentrate on the fundamental concepts and techniques of computer programming, without being distracted by complex syntax. As a result, this book can be used at the high school (and perhaps middle school) level, while providing enough advanced concepts not usually found in a first course to challenge a college...