Rating: 
Summary: Just fleshing out the online docs
Review: As someone else wrote, "I could have written this book after compiling and installing apache myself". There really is nothing to this book that will save you any time. Go to apache.org or usenet via dejanews. I really was expecting a book that would address some real-world issues that are not easy to find. E.g, using mod_perl with apache (trial and error and reading bad docs worked but a lot of time wasted and I don't feel I am aware of the full potential) java servlets (okay maybe they need to update the book but they are taking the entirely wrong tack anyhow. Show exactly how it is done from line one) How can I insert headers and footers on all my pages via apache rather than server-side includes in all the html docs. This is possible but I gave up finding out how. Using the clickthrough cookie monster. Very interesting but where is that explored? Not at all. Just mentioned. I learned how to implement this in other places. I have learned nothing from this book but to be more careful in selecting books.
Rating:
Summary: Less than expected
Review: I did not like this book. I think you can do much better with another Apache book. The authors basically wrote a diary of setting up a webserver from start to finish. They seem board out of their mind and try to be funny ever once and a while. They copy the man pages word for word occasionally. I need something serious and authoritive where the authors are passionate about the subject like the authors in "Unix Power Tools" or "Unix System Administration Handbook" Come on O'Reilly, give us a better book on Apache and show us how to install PHP.
Rating: 
Summary: Thought would be a usual "O really!?" :-(
Review: I had been dealing with Apache before I purchased this book, and I tell you, learnt a lot. The feature of the book that I liked the most was illustration servers that they build on each chapter (almost on each chapter). Every single configuration is built upon the previous one. For example, they build the first web server in chapter 2, site.toddle with just the following configuration: User webuser
Group webgroup
Servername yourmachinename
DocumentRoot /usr/www/site.toddle/htdocs Then in the following chapters they introduce different issues, and keep adding lines to the above configuration file and building seperate versions of more advanced sites. However, there're several things that you might wanna be aware of before purchasing this book. Although the above mentioned feature of the book claims it's well-organized, it's not. Some of the directives just pop-up in the middle of the discussion, where they are not supposed to belong. I found that pretty annoying and confusing. I can recall the one about CERN Metafiles in chapter 3. Another annoying thing was the way they introduce directives. Consider the following lines from page 53: ServerSignature [off|on|email]
Default: off
Directory, .htaccess [ ...6 line description follows...] Yes, it reminds me of the Apache's online documentation (which even does way better job than the above cold-blooded description). Of course, one expects more from a book than citing the online documentaion. If you want to know what kind of audience the book is designed for, my answer is straightforward: I don't know, period! I have a feeling even the authors don't know anything about their potential readers. They try to get as detailed as they can where it doesn't make sence to do so. And when you expect some detail, they just ignore you. I used the book as a referense during my internship, but it still didn't keep me from having to visit apache.org for more details. Now I am considering buying another book on Apache. I'll let you know :)
Rating: 
Summary: For those new to Apache...
Review: I respectfully disagree with most of the reviews I've read in this book. As the back of
the book states it is designed primarily for those who are "new" to Apache (as I am). As such,
this book has been a great help to my understanding of how to set up and configure an Apache
webserver. It takes you through the evolution of a sample site and allows you to see and witness how the
Apache configuration changes to accomodate the web site. It teaches you by doing, not just by a
bunch of idle, technical words. I have not finished the book yet, but I have already set up Name-based,
IP-based, Mixed-based hosts etc... with great ease. I'm using Win32!!. This book is great for the Apache beginner,
Take it from me :)
Rating:
Summary: Not too useful for standard Linux installations
Review: I would imagine that the book might be easier to follow if I had done exactly what the authors do, which is to install FreeBSD and then install Apache with the included CD-ROM. But that's not really an option in most cases unless you can afford to have a separate machine that doesn't have the standard Linux installation on it, just for following the book. I've learned a lot more about how to set up Apache to properly on Linux (Redhat 6.2) by searching around the web and reading the online documentation than from this book. This is so disappointing, because like others, I usually love anything that is published by O'Reilly. The only thing that stops me from giving it a lower rating is that some of the information is kind of useful. I have Professional Apache on order now, and I'm hoping for more from that.
Rating:
Summary: Very basic, generalized. Not much there.
Review: If you've used Apache without even reading about any detailed configurations, you'd still not see anything new in this book. I can see this book being a little useful for beginners, but even then, it's not really getting into very detailed information about the configurations and whatnot for module installs/additions. I can see someone new still getting frustrated with this book if they run into a problem. I picked it up, well, because I buy every O'Reilly book that comes out (seriously) and thought I might be able to find something interesting, useful or that I wasn't aware of or forgot... maybe even a little tip about efficiency, compiling options or just anything of interest. This is no more useful than the README and INSTALL files that come with Apache's source code. I'm not sure I want to even give this two stars come to think of it. I just don't see the point to this book. A let down coming from O'Reilly.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent start for Web Administrators
Review: O'Reilley and Associates seems to have a knack at publishing good, solid technical manuals -- and "Apache: The Definitive Guide" is no exception. One of the best features of this book is the assumption that the reader knows nothing about web servers, and builds a good solid knowledge of apache, the most popular web server on the internet today (and one of only a few offering true HTTP-compliance). The book guides the reader through the purpose of Apache, the HTTP protocol, and then on to writing Apache config files from scratch (once you learn how to do this, you'll never want to use the default config). From there, the book goes on to discuss advanced topics such as server-side includes, Secure socket layer, and even a reference into the Apache API. The only suggestion I'd add -- when you try the examples in this book, make sure you have a clean install of Apache. If you're on linux, don't use the version of Apache that shipped with your system -- start from scratch, follow the book. For windows users, don't be intimidated by the lack of a visual front-end (this is actually a benefit on a real production web server). Follow the book and all the special notes for Win32, and you'll be an Apache guru in no time.
Rating:
Summary: Not for Newbies or Windows Users
Review: Really, this book can be described as the Apache httpd manual in much greater detail. The book covers pretty much everything you might want to know about running Apache on a *nix or Windows Operating System, but the basic attitude toward Windows users is "If it doesn't work for you - tough luck", which is fine, since Apache really isn't meant to run on Windows as anything more than a test server anyway. Still, I fear that a lot of the Windows folks who are jumping into the Open Source craze may pick this book up and be greatly disappointed. Another problem I had with the book was the fact that it plays out as more of a step by step manual for setting up specific features of Apache. This makes it fairly difficult to use it for reference later on, but perhaps the idea was that once you got through this book, you could use the web and the manual as a reference instead. All in all, the book is fairly useful, it just takes some getting used to. If you plan to use it to set up a Windows server, you'd probably be better off braving the various forums and threads out there available to Apache users. However, if you have a good Operating System (BSD, Unix, or Linux), and you want some extra help setting up your Apache server, or setting up specific parts of your Apache server, by all means give this book a shot. It's an above average book, but it's below average by O'Reilly standards.
Rating:
Summary: Great Intro Book
Review: The authors jump in with an example configuration, but never explain how each element of the configuration relates to the rest. For example- do alias statements take precedence over <directory> blocks ? Does it matter what order an alias or scriptalias directive appears in your file ? We are never told. In addition, there is a lack of continuity between one experiment in configuration and the next. As other reviewers have pointed out, it's unclear who the intended audience is. I'm sure at some point I'll get some value from the API documentation, but as a newbie to Apache, I've learned considerably more through trial and error on my own than by reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: Outdated and Poorly Targeted
Review: This book is targeted at the wrong people. It's written at a level of detail that falls somewhere between what you'd need if you already know how to work with Apache and that you'd need if you've never worked with it before. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to provide the information that's really most-needed for either end of the spectrum. There's little more than hand-waving over how and where to set up webs on a server or how to deal with configuration differences in Unix flavors. And the organization appears to be a weird hybrid between the "read all and understand" and the "do as you read" models for software books. My advice: Look for another book, or look this one over very carefully to make sure it's suitable for your level of experience and learning style.
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