Introduces the command line compiler and has the source for several simple SWFs.
Do you mean Flash animation or ActionScript? I learned Flash/ActionScript and PHP at the same time by reading Foundation PHP 5 for Flash. But I already had an understanding of animation programs like Toon Boon and Autodesk Animator Pro.
Actually I wanted to learn both of them.
Which version of Flash do you own? I'd start by learning the animation aspect first. Learn about key frames, the timeline, layers and suchlike. There has to be a tutorial online somewhere. I remember when I was learning I turned to Google many times.
I do not know where to start. I have basic programming knowledge in python and vbscript.