If you prefer to build from source, you can download the Python source code from http://www.python.org/ftp/python/. Select the highest version number listed, download the .tgz file), and then do the usual configure, make, make install dance.
Example 1.4. Installing from source
localhost:~$ su -
Password: [enter your root password]
localhost:~# wget http://www.python.org/ftp/python/2.3/Python-2.3.tgz
Resolving www.python.org... done.
Connecting to www.python.org[194.109.137.226]:80... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 8,436,880 [application/x-tar]
...
localhost:~# tar xfz Python-2.3.tgz
localhost:~# cd Python-2.3
localhost:~/Python-2.3# ./configure
checking MACHDEP... linux2
checking EXTRAPLATDIR...
checking for --without-gcc... no
...
localhost:~/Python-2.3# make
gcc -pthread -c -fno-strict-aliasing -DNDEBUG -g -O3 -Wall -Wstrict-prototypes
-I. -I./Include -DPy_BUILD_CORE -o Modules/python.o Modules/python.c
gcc -pthread -c -fno-strict-aliasing -DNDEBUG -g -O3 -Wall -Wstrict-prototypes
-I. -I./Include -DPy_BUILD_CORE -o Parser/acceler.o Parser/acceler.c
gcc -pthread -c -fno-strict-aliasing -DNDEBUG -g -O3 -Wall -Wstrict-prototypes
-I. -I./Include -DPy_BUILD_CORE -o Parser/grammar1.o Parser/grammar1.c
...
localhost:~/Python-2.3# make install
/usr/bin/install -c python /usr/local/bin/python2.3
...
localhost:~/Python-2.3# exit
logout
localhost:~$ which python
/usr/local/bin/python
localhost:~$ python
Python 2.3.1 (#2, Sep 24 2003, 11:39:14)
[GCC 3.3.2 20030908 (Debian prerelease)] on linux2
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> [press Ctrl+D to get back to the command prompt]
localhost:~$
