Guessing by the question, I'm assuming your a first-time programmer. I've always thought that the worst way to start learning a programming languange was to sit down and learn the syntax. If you are new to programming, the quickest way to get started is think about you program in terms of problem you want to solve with a computer. For example, "I want to create an web page that writes out my name." Start simple and work from there. Start with working out in your head what you want the program to do step by step. You may do this several time starting fairly generic, but getting more specific on what you want it to do. Then, start going through books, web pages, etc. to learn how to write the program in the language you want to learn. Not wanting to start a flame war, but any languange is perfect for being your first language.

Daring to go off topic, I don't believe that your choice for the first programming language you learn is at all important. I started with Basic and Assembly on a Commodore 64. What is important is learning how to solve your problems in a step by step manner. A book I recently read that does a good job of this is How To Design Programs. It teaches programming by using this approach.

Yes, it uses Scheme, but still, learning a specific language is not important, becoming a skilled programmer is. After you learn how to program, learning languages is very easy.