Red Hat Linux 9 Unleashed

Rating:
Summary: Good overall presentation
Review: Alright, this book has some strong points and some weak points. The weak points are: There are only general guidlines to troubleshooting but nothing else. The reference links work, but some are expired. The coverage is "hasty" and kind of sloppy, but in a book like this that is to be expected.
The strong points are: It virtually covers all the areas. It gives you a solid idea on how Linux works and lets you take it from there. It offers enough support to specialized issues such as networking, scripting, and kernel managing. (Again don't expect any in depth troubleshooting, if any at all).

The message is clear: If you want a most general introduction to ALL areas of Linux, buy this book.
If you want the newbie's guide to Linux, this is not it! Chances are that you'll get stuck booting for the first time with weird messages appearing on your screen and this book will not care less! Stay clear in that case and buy someting more limited to its scope but more embracing to troubleshooting.

On the other hand if you are not experienced yet and you want a thick book on your shelf as a guick reference to kernel compilation let's say, then buy this book. As your experience grows your references to this book will diminish.

Rating:
Summary: Book fine, CDs unusable
Review: Book seems to be a usable introduction to Linux, but don't buy it to get the software. The second CD seems to have a production problem. Both the original and the replacement sent to me hang up the install process and result in an unbootable PC.

Rating:
Summary: Happy Hacking!
Review: Finally... an awesome resource for advanced users. The coverage on kernel rebuilding was definitely the most valuable reading I've done in years. Loved it.

Rating:
Summary: Red Hat Linux 9 Unleashed
Review: I have been using Linux for over 3 years, so I cannot honestly review Red Hat 9 Linux Unleashed from the standpoint of a complete beginner.

However, this book is the first reference I consult when I have a question. There is so much software available for Linux that no book can cover every topic in depth.

On the other hand, Red Hat Linux 9 Unleashed seems to explain more material than the other "thick" Linux books in the same class. There's a good list of references, in the form of web addresses, at the end of each chapter so you can research topics in even greater detail.

I used Ball & Duff's earlier book, Red Hat Linux 8 Unleashed when I ran Red Hat Linux 8 and thought highly of it. Their later RH9 book is even better.

Regarding one reviewer's complaint about the book failing to tell how to configure the almost impenetrable sendmail command, I followed Ball & Duff's advice (pg. 634) to use Donncha O Caoimh's free install-sendmail script, which worked great.

Rating:
Summary: Good overall presentation
Review: I was extremely disappointed in this book. I upgraded from 7.2 to 9.0 and some things have changed with Redhat 9.0 such as sendmail. I can except mail but can't send mail. This book tells you absolutely nothing on how to setup sendmail. As I go over the book it tells you nothing about any of the programs.

Don't waste your money.