Book help

I posted this in linuxnewbie.orgs forums and didnt get much help.

Im looking to pick up a linux book because I have some BN.com credit.

I have read a ton of the threads on newb.orgs forums and have heard different books suggested.

Running linux - 4th edition
a practical guide to linux (mark sobell)
linux administration - a beginners guide

Im looking for a book that will help me get to the point where i can jump from casual use, to perhaps full time use.

People have said "running linux" is good, it covers everything, but not in great detail. I am not worried too much about this because for the specifics there is A TON of online help and docs. I am leaning towards running linux because the 4th edition was just released in december 2002 and it is the most highly mentioned. I should note though, that if someone used running linux and on of the other books i mentioned, they usually recommended the other book.

What do you think? Please only recommend another book if you can directly compare it to one of these, and say why it is better. It sometimes gets messy when people with only experience with *one* book come into threads and confuse the poster

thanks

also, for a good reference book I will probably get "linux in a nutshell" later. highly recommended. if you can say anything about this book, or another good desktop reference book, please do.

You'll do fine with all four of those books. But don't forget that linux already has man (manual) files installed, plus tons of HOWTOs. You can access all of them from The Linux Documentation Project page, http://www.tldp.org/, for free.

Running Linux will give you a good overview on running linux, ie. X, scripts, cron, etc. Linux in a nutshell is good for quick lookups, but the "man whatevercommand" will be a whole lot quicker and easier because you're right there on the computer.

I have all four of those books, and while they are good references, they don't differ much from the free sources of information, plus you'll find info from the internet is much more up to date than any book will be. Or you might go to your local library, and borrow the books to see if they're worth buying.

books

Running Linux is pretty good as are any other of the books by O'Reilly. I also have Teach Yourself Unix is 24 hours, which offers a lot more detail on commands and editors.

But there's so much documentation out there and on your HDD that's free.

I'd get one general linux reference, and buy specific references as you may need them.

I believe you're on the right track with Linux in a nutshell. Go for "practicality" in a book. Once you grasp the general concepts mentioned in the book. You'll be prepared to probe deeper using online references and "man" pages.

http://rute.2038bug.com/rute.html.gz

A good online reference. Not so heavy duty that you can't grasp the concepts, but involved enough to give you a better understanding of the fundamentals.

DNS and BIND, Fourth Edition by O'Reilly is an excellent book. Of course, it's only useful if you want to understand setting up and aminstering a DNS server. Granted, there's good information on the net, but this is one of those books I believe is mandatory for sys admins.

You might want to get something involving MYSQL or Postgresql. Just to get a better understanding of relational databases. Once again, this is for very specific needs, but at some point down the line you may want to know something about it.

Apache, Samba, FTP, etc, etc. These are all things that you can find loads of information on the web, but having a book will come in handy when you're at a different location. (Or just sitting on the crapper and want to learn a bit more about VHOSTs or whatnot. )

thanks. I was looking for a printed out book on the basics. I know about all of the free stuff online, but would like something in a paper i can read to get down the basics. thats right, for when Im ****ting, haha.

I picked up running linux today. I have only read about a page or two so far. If I find I dont like it, I will go in and exchange it for something else. I will just see how it goes now. I will pick up linux in a nutshell or asomething else, when i think i need it.

thanks for your help.

I've had Running Linux 3rd edition for a while now, and I'm pretty happy with it. Somewhat dated, but it gives you a nice overview of how Linux works. Once you have that general knowledge, I find its easier to find more detailed information on the net than if you had known nothing about the subject.