[buug] Jackpot!

[Rick Moen]

begin  Zeke Krahlin quotation:

> I cannot agree that "Running Linux" is good for beginners; it's just a
> bit too advanced IMO.

You see, the problem with books that cover the basics in greater detail
is that, of necessity, they either must be far too extensive, which
prevents you from finding anything, or must be shallow and cover too 
little.  I've seen many of the former; they have comforting _bulk_, but 
are useless.  I've seen even more of the latter, they are comfortingly 
_written_, but are useless.

Whereas, starting from nearly no (relevant) Unix knowledge, that book
(first edition, a long ways back) and experimentation at the console
told me, concisely, everything important I needed to know in my first
year as a Linux sysadmin, when I needed to know it.

(My opinion; yours for a small fee.  ;->  )

> However, I *do recommend it as one's Linux "bible"....

It _can't_ be a Linux "bible", because it's a _tutorial_.  For that, you
would need a good reference book, such as _Linux in a Nutshell_.

> ... or "Teach Yourself KDE 1.1".

I have yet to see a book about KDE that leaves you with any long-term
useful knowledge of Linux (or any other Unix).  These are "comfort
books", ones that fool you into thinking they're teaching you something
meaningful, when all they consist of is painfully slow cookbook recipes
to teach you the surface mechanics of _one_ version of some collection
of desktop utilities.   And any marginal usefulness you might find will
evaporate with the next minor revamping.

That's not a book; that's a security blanket.  The way you learn is by
putting down the blanket and diving in.

(On the other hand, hey, if you really think you'll benefit from a $20
security blanket, whatever works for you is good by that measure -- but
I still say people are kidding themselves, if they think they have 
_learned_ from such things in any meaningful, long-term sense.)

> Before stumbling upon this unexpected treasure, I had set out to
> search for a decent FreeBSD book for under $40. Well, I'll have to get
> around to that another time...meanwhile, I can just learn BSD by the
> manuals that come with the install, and from a BSD website.

The on-line FreeBSD tutorials are really well written.

The Unix Bookshelf set is a fine catch, but you should consider tracking
down _Linux in a Nutshell_ as an addition.  Its elder cousin, _Unix in a
Nutshell_, will do in a pinch, but also having the Linux-specific volume
will save you some occasional head-scratching.
 
-- 
Cheers,                                      Right to keep and bear
Rick Moen                                  Haiku shall not be abridged
rick (at) linuxmafia.com                      Or denied.  So there.