I am wanting to begin studying for my Linux + certification. It looks like the exam covers BASH as the command line to know. I was wondering if Ubuntu 8.04 uses BASH by default, or how I could tell. If not, how to I obtain and use BASH? I was also wondering if anyone out there with a Linux + cert could reccomend some books to study...Amazon reviews were really mixed on the 3 or 4 available books. I was also wondering what books might be reccomended to learn BASH well enough for the Linux + exam. Thanks guys!

Yes, Ubuntu uses BASH by default. The best way to teach yourself is to start using the command line for day-to-day tasks.

I am with you on that. The one thing I think I appreciate most about linux is it's dependency on the command line. I began my education in IT starting with XP, and there has been little to no teaching on the command line. I used to look at DOS as something that made me feel smart, but was archaic and stupid. Using BASH has given me a love for command line, and how powerful it is. cp, mv, rm, gedit, sudo...all these things I have learned through necessity....i.e. needing to perform a task that was only possible through command line. I am surprised at how futile my efforts for learning the Windows command line were compared to how easy I am picking up BASH, and retaining because I use it all the time. Like I said before; I used to thing command line was old, stupid, counter productive, and archaic because I could do everything, outside of ipconfig, that I needed to do with the Windows GUI. Thanks for the help guys! Keep the advice coming. Books, books, books...the best way I have found to study for me.

to check which shell you are running:
echo $0
Book?
man bash
Really, the manpages are important!