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Rating: 
Summary: Not a good starter kit
Review: Having an extensive programming background, I decided to learn Linux because my company is trying to move all their servers over from Windows machines. I got this book with the intention of learning some of the ins and outs of Linux. Well, this book is simply not good. It covers far too many topics without covering anything in depth. It gives some decent reference sources for more information, but it reads more like a Linux for Dummies book. For anyone who is able to do things as simple as set up their email, this book will frustrate you to no end in that it covers so much, it covers nothing. I don't know what is a good Linux book, but I don't think it is one that has you learn the system in 24 hours.
Rating:
Summary: Not Good in a Nutshell
Review: Having an extensive programming background, I decided to learn Linux because my company is trying to move all their servers over from Windows machines. I got this book with the intention of learning some of the ins and outs of Linux. Well, this book is simply not good. It covers far too many topics without covering anything in depth. It gives some decent reference sources for more information, but it reads more like a Linux for Dummies book. For anyone who is able to do things as simple as set up their email, this book will frustrate you to no end in that it covers so much, it covers nothing. I don't know what is a good Linux book, but I don't think it is one that has you learn the system in 24 hours.
Rating: 
Summary: an incomplete guide
Review: This book is written in a way that is easy to understand, but really does not go into much detail. The directions are sometimes incorrect and/or incomplete, e.g. the installation section does not explain how to create a boot disk nor does it direct you to the back cover where the directions are as well as a few path names being incorrect.
Rating:
Summary: Not a good starter kit
Review: This is not a good "Starter Kit" for first time installers because it does not go into enough detail. The information about how to actually set up partitions is especially lacking and VERY important. Page 16 clearly states "In most cases the information in this hour should be sufficient to get you through the installation, but it does not go into very great detail. If you run into any problems or if you want more background information, be sure to read the Red Hat installation and reference guides.". I bought this book because:
1. I found the Red Hat documentation lacking for first timers.
2. Sam's is usually pretty good.
3. I know I need a "starter kit' to reduce the learning curve. This book would be greatly improved if it just added a few more pages to give step by step instructions on how to partition:
By operating system:
1. single boot
2. dual boot one drive
3. dual boot two drives I will probably buy PartitionMagic to set up the partitions I want. I hope the rest of the book is better. I am currently getting errors installing anaconda from the installation disk. Off to Red Hat....
Rating:
Summary: There are much better books out there
Review: Well, it pretty much does what it says in the title. I bought the book, read the first two "lessons" or chapters and after following the directions, I had a fully functioning Linux system. Because I didn't have a spare computer to practice on, I had to partition my hard drive. Windows (or DOS) is now running on one partition and Linux is running on another. When I start or re-boot my computer, I then choose which operation system to use. The software you need to make the partitions, change the way your system boots and of course, install Linux is all included on the first of two CDs included in the book. I ran into a few snags when I performed the installation, but in each case it was because I didn't follow the directions closely enough, so it's not the authors' fault that I messed up, but my own. Your mileage may vary. (HINT: Make sure you have a 'hard' modem and not a 'soft' modem.) If you are curious about Linux (as I was) and want to try it yourself, then this book is a bargain. But don't be fooled by the title--it seems to imply that you can learn Linux in a day, but they (the authors) mean that you can learn Linux in 24 hour-long lessons. Still, you can read the first two chapters, follow the steps and have Linux up and running in one day as I did. I'm not finished with all 24 of my 'lessons,' but the book is proving to be a very valuable guide.
Rating: 
Summary: Learn what could be the first product in a revolution
Review: With all due respect to the power of the United States Department of Justice, the real threat to the power of Microsoft is not the fickle bludgeon of a legal apparatus but the tsunami-like power of the market. To a sophisticated group of developers fed up with inefficient and buggy software, the open source model offers more than just an alternative. It is a way to create software using a distributed form of quality control that simply does not or cannot exist in a traditional development process. The leading element of the open source movement is the operating system Linux, which provides a degree of stability unheard of in the Microsoft world. I recently received a message from a former student where he informed me that their Linux server had not been rebooted in one and a half years.
Given the power and force behind this movement, it is clear that knowledge of Linux is one of those skills where demand will continue to dramatically rise. To benefit from this change, a book like this one is necessary. Using it, it is possible to start from ground zero and begin using and appreciating Linux in less than a day. Two CD ROMs are included which contain Red Hat Linux version 7 and many other programs and utilities that are used with Linux. Granted that the software can be obtained over the web, the presence of the CDs helps make the book a true bargain. For the sake of simplicity, the CDs alone are probably worth the cost of the book.
That aside, the lessons are efficiently organized and teach you what is needed to get up and going with Red Hat Linux with no unnecessary asides. While I am not a fan of the Microsoft monolith, nothing infuriates me more than when I am reading about an alternative product and have to wade through diatribes about the "bad guys." To their credit, the authors avoid stepping into that pile of goo.
The wise and wizened warriors understand that things come and go on a regular cycle and not all new things are really new or lasting. However, Linux is more than just a lasting thing. It may be the initial product in an entirely new way of creating and marketing software. In these circumstances it bodes well for your future if you know Linux and this book is a good place to start.
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