Member Review: OÂ’ReillyÂ’s Linux in a Nutshell

Introduction:

OÂ’Reilly is a company known for their high-quality literature on computing. Their books are sought after as useful repositories of information, and tend to be very complete and thorough. When I went to the local Barnes & Noble to buy a linux book so I could get a better grasp on what I was doing, I knew I wanted an OÂ’Reilly book, yet I was confronted with a problem. For $45, I could get Running Linux, or for $40 I could get the much larger Linux in a Nutshell. IÂ’m assuming that you can tell by the title of this review which I picked.

About the book:




The book is big. In fact, itÂ’s exactly 930 pages. That being said, there is one important thing I must point out, something I should have thought about before I purchased this book; this is not a book for beginners. Being a novice myself, I found this book rather daunting for a very simple reason; the book is not a guide, itÂ’s a reference tool. It is a directory of linux commands and how to use them, and unless you know what youÂ’re trying to do and know the gist of the command you canÂ’t get to work properly, this book wonÂ’t do you much good. You canÂ’t just pick it up and read it.





Using the book:

Using this book is much like using a dictionary. You just flip to the section you want and look up the command you want. The book has very concise and well-written explanations for each command, and leaves no question on how it is to be used. I have found this book useful in such a manner on several occasions.





The Verdict:

This book is a must have for the forgetful linux veteran, but is most definitely not suited to beginners. It is well written and does its job stunningly, with a minimum of fluff. Linux in a Nutshell is 930 pages of information. It doesnÂ’t overclock that well, though.

I give it a solid nine Pimp Hats out of ten.