BOOK RECOMMENDATION: Linux Administration Handbook ==================================================
I just got back from this year's Book Fair which was held at the Megatrade Convention Hall last week and came home with a gem. In the same spirit as their "UNIX System Administration Handbook" (USAH) (http://www.admin.com), Evi Nemeth, Garth Snyder and Trent Hein have come up with the "Linux Administration Handbook." (http://vig.prenhall.com/catalog/academic/product/1,4096,0130084662,00.html) This is perhaps THE one book I would recommend to aspiring Linux System Administrators. I was weaned on their earlier editions (first and second editions) of USAH. I skipped their third edition (the first edition which included Linux (Red Hat) in their coverage) due to its unavailability and lack of funds. Now, I can say that it was a blessing in disguise that I missed buying the 3rd ed. A cursory look of the table of contents shows that they have not departed radically from their previous offerings. Even their cartoons remain practically the same save for alterations to read Linux instead of UNIX. :) It really isn't surprising because Linux is, after all, UNIX. Dennis Ritchie said so, and so have Evi and company. They acknowledge that much of the coverage in this present book remains the same as in the previous incarnations. They do have a lot of material that has been added since they now focus on Linux. By the way, Linus Torvalds himself wrote the Foreword to this book and he is pleased. What makes this book (and its other incarnations) really shine is that it is not a rehash of the manuals, nor is it a tutorial that holds your hands through the basics of using UNIX [1]. Instead, the authors teach concepts and provide an understanding of the bigger picture in which the System Administrator works. They provide anecdotes to illustrate how things happen in the real world and give insights and rationales for why doing a certain task in a certain way is better. For material that they don't cover in the book, they provide sources or pointers to where you can get more information. At the end of each chapter, they provide a number of exercises that may lead to some new projects. Maybe the one chapter that Ian or Dek will find disappointing in the whole book would be the chapter on Electronic Mail. Yes, they still seem to recommend sendmail, guys. ;) Sadly, they didn't write the book in Linux or UNIX. :P But who cares? :) If you've been saving up for a book on Linux System Administration, this is the one to get. I got my copy from F.B. De Jesus. Retails at PhP 4,250. A little pricey, but really, really worth it. - [1] For learning how to use UNIX/Linux as a -user- first, I highly recommend The Waite Group's "UNIX Primer Plus", also from Prentice Hall. -- ___ eric pareja ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) User #8159 http://counter.li.org \e/ [ Chiba City: A Cyberpunk MUSH - http://chibacity.erisian.net ] GNU/Linux v [ Philippine Linux Users' Group + http://plug.linux.org.ph ] Software & [ IRC /join #plug @irc.free.net.ph every evening 10pm onwards ] Freedom "...the symbol is nothing. It is the reality behind every symbol that is all." _ Philippine Linux Users Group. Web site and archives at http://plug.linux.org.ph To leave: send "unsubscribe" in the body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe to the Linux Newbies' List: send "subscribe" in the body to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
