I haven't quite broken into yet because it's mainly a reference tool book. So what Linux is it talking about? I saw a chapter mentioning Debian and Red Hat. I might put on RH again if it's what the book is mainly refering to. This book is rather large and I'm not quite for sure where to start here. But if I can get the correct distro on it might help.

Anyone else buy/read this book?

Most of the commands and referneces in that book are Linux-neutral. Meaning that it really doesn't matter which distro you use, they will all mostly work. More than likely the book will mention where the different distros differ on certain parts of the system. It would be safe to say go with RH or FC when using that book though.

If the book you have is this one then it doesn't really refer to any one specific distribution of Linux.

The bulk of the book (section 3 - Linux Commands) is made up of an alphabetical list of commands for the Linux shell (or Konsole). The rest of the book deals with generic tools found on nearly all distro's (such as Grub and Lilo, the vi text editor etc) and how to set them up.

It's not what I'd call an easy read, and probably shouldn't be read cover to cover in one sitting, but it's well handy to have around on your desk for as and when you need that elusive command etc.

If you want a book dealing with a specific distro, then try the 'Linux Bible' series of books. They mostly focus on Red Hat derived distro's (RH, FC, Suse etc) and are quite a tome, but if you want to bone up on the distro that the book covers then they're a worthwhile read.

Thanks for the info, I had a feeling it was for all Linux distros but I wanted to be for sure.

pongmaster - yes that is the book I have.

I used to hate command lines but with 500 pages filled with info on just how to do console stuff I think I'll be fine.

I would also highly recommend the SuSE manuals. While they obviously are specific to the SuSE distro, they contain a wealth of information that would be transferrable to pretty much any distro. -- J.W.

OK, thanks but I might not be able to check into it for a long time. These books are a killing (a near $40 at Barnes & Noble for "Nutshell"). If I get another I might pick up "The Linux Cookbook". But thanks for the advice.

You might check out used book stores and rummage sales. The public library is a good source also to see which books you actually want to shell out your own hard earned money to buy. And last but not least I have found and purchased several off of E-Bay quite cheaply. Good luck on your search.

linux cookbook (o'reilly) is an excellent book. i picked it up a few weeks ago...thought i had spent a ton of money (ok, 40 bucks, but still thats a lot) on a book i'd never use....then i found myself using it a lot....
linux in a nutshell will be handy for you once you start to grasp the details of linux...it's also a great reference manual that covers linux, not just a few distros...

have you checked out online books like

rute

or slack book

i found rute especially helpful in the beginning...it seemed to talk on my level, lol.

Hmm.. thanks for the book advice - I will have to check it out.

Unfortunately I am the type that it paranoid if a book is damaged (even slightly), but a quick trip to the library wouldn't kill me.

On a tight budget and school, I'll probably be able to get the Cookbook, but it might be a long time. So the library and used book stores might would be a good idea for me to check out.

Thanks again

I have that book and in the begining somewhere it states that it uses Red Hat 9.x for the manual. I have run Red Hat and am now running Debian, and the base commands are the same. The only differences I have found is that it talks about RPM packages and does not go into apt-get or dpkg.

A really good and small book, Linux Pocket Guide (O Reily), is only about $10 US ($15 CAN), and covers just the essential command line commands.

I have that book as well, and it is an excellent book!

Books you can download free of charge:
Rute User's Tutorial and Exposition
Linux Administration Made Easy

Where can they be downloaded from?

You can find them here:

Rute

LAME

Happy reading! -- J.W.