UNIX for Dummies

Rating:
Summary: wonderful unix reference
Review: I cannot understand how anyone can say anything bad about this book. It is absolutely fantastic to learn about working with the UNIX operating system. Detail, step-by-step explanations and examples of the main UNIX commands. If you need to work with UNIX, buy this book NOW! There is no better guide to help you get started in the confusing world of UNIX. I wish someone would write Oracle database books that are this easy to use and reference. Thanks to the authors!

Rating:
Summary: Worth reading, but not paying
Review: I recommend checking this book out from your library, but definitely not paying for it. There are many internet guides which are free and do cover the same amount of information. The most aggravating aspect of this book is the vacuous writing style, which the authors apparently believe is funny or cute. Every paragraph contains an aside aimed at criticizing the operating system or reveling in the concept of stupidity. It feels patronizing and detracting when the authors refer to an apparent "need" for UNIX to be complicated, or the inevitability of the user's typos.

The book is helpful in introducing the operating system, despite its poor presentation. It is worth looking over, but not paying full price, as the information it contains can be found elsewhere. I did enjoy the more or less step-by-step presentation of many commands, as well as tips for avoiding common mistakes.

Rating:
Summary: AVOID
Review: I was completely lost and had never used UNIX in my entire life. This book gave me a very helpful sampling of the most useful commands and excellent syntax examples so that I could start trying them immediately. It has a very gentle approach and thus is perfect for a "Dummy."
I highly recommend it to the beginner with no experience in UNIX. The book works well enough that you've outgrown it in a week and know enough to look for a more advanced book. That says a lot.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely fabulous
Review: I've been working on IBM mainframe systems for several years, and had to start working on UNIX. I got a copy of this book, and have never regretted it! Well layed out, informative, and genuinely useful. I still refer to it regularly, and colleagues 'borrow' it on a daily basis. The best work related book I've ever bought!

Rating:
Summary: A great introduction to UNIX for any newbies.
Review: John R. Levine provides a great introduction to UNIX, geared towards newcomers to this operating system. While anybody who has already spent a while working with UNIX, will probably consider the approach and contents of this book as too simplistic, it appears to be a perfect fit for those readers who need to or want to take their first steps in this great operating system.

Once the basic philosophy of UNIX has been communicated, and the reader has become familiar with the use of a wide variety of the standard commands, as well as the basic functionality of a few shell command interpreters, the reader is equipped with all the basics for jumping into the pool and paddling around.

Even though this title provides a great introduction for UNIX users, and will be sufficient to learn how to swim with the flow, it should by no means be considered a sufficient resource for the experienced and/or advanced UNIX user or system administrator.

For these latter groups there are a variety of other titles available that provide the desired depth. However, Levine's book is one of the very few that manages to address the very basics which quite often are omitted in other publications presumably aimed at the same target group.

Even though it will take an aspiring reader and UNIX user quite a while to get to level of understanding required to get the most out of the likes of "The Design of the UNIX Operating System" and "Design and Implementation of the BSD 4.4 Operating System", this book constitutes the first step for any newcomer towards achieving such a goal.

Rating:
Summary: This book is useful.
Review: Ok guys this book isn't bad. It is very descriptive and well written. The problem is there's much of water, long blah-blah-blah and so on. It takes too long to start and then looOOoong leaps from one real problem to another. But it is "fur dummy" book it supposed to be like that with all explanations back to the baggining.
I have found here on Amazon training DVD "UNIX Essentials" by TechnoProfessor that nobody knows about. It is very cool one, straight to the subject, very useful. I coupled this book with DVD and I believe I learned more then my friend who attended $2000 class.
This book is good , but DVD is DVD, it is like you have class at home. This book is very useful though.

Rating:
Summary: Odd choice of content
Review: Setting up your own NetBSD or other UNIX system, or looking to tune your web server? Forget this book.

Written for those who are being given an already-set-up UNIX system run by a caring "guru," and who apparently do not need to do anything but write and print with it, UNIX for Dummies almost completely ignores common problems of UNIX users, such as serving Web sites, recycling an old machine as a SAMBA file server, and, basically, most anything involving setting up a new UNIX system. Yes, I enjoyed the sarcastic history, though they only gave credit to people via first names. They also seemed to spend more time trashing UNIX and its various utilities than actually telling us how to use them.

Parts seem outdated, though this is the fourth edition.

Aside from a readable guide to vi - with no real advice on setting up, say, pico - this book was of no use to me. But you probably knew that by now.

Rating:
Summary: This book serves its purpose
Review: The writer has adopted a very flippant attitude while writing this book. Information is not organized properly. A lot of irrelevant information is included.

Also, the writer takes great pleasure in trashing Microsoft at any given opportunity. I would rather he focus on writing a book on learning UNIX.