My UNIX/Linux ReadingList

  1. Running Linux (3rd Edition)
    by Matt Welsh, Matthias Kalle Dalheimer, Lar Kaufman
    Product Details
    Paperback: 749 pages
    Publisher: O'Reilly; 3 edition (August 1, 1999)
    ISBN: 156592469X
    http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/156592469X
    This book is an excellent introduction for beginning Linux Users and Admins into the philosophy and way of thinking inside Linux. Be sure to fetch the 3rd ed. instead of the 4th ed. If you come across a Februari 1995 First Edition (ISBN : 1-56592-100-3) make sure to buy it as its used language was not yet edited into "Linux in 24 hours" prose, but reads as if Welsh himself is giving you that first cool Linux ride.

  2. Linux Administration Handbook
    by Evi Nemeth, Garth Snyder, Trent R. Hein
    Product Details
    Paperback: 890 pages
    Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR; 1st edition (March 25, 2002)
    ISBN: 0130084662
    http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0130084662
    This book is more like a cook and reference book on howto conduct administrative task on a Linux system. It covers Redhat, SuSE and Debian.

  3. Unix Shell Programming, Third Edition
    by Stephen Kochan, Patrick Wood
    Product Details
    Paperback: 456 pages
    Publisher: Sams; 3 edition (February 27, 2003)
    ISBN: 0672324903
    http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0672324903
    This is the Best book to learn Shell scripting, and has an excellent good and balanced intro for a programmer and a fairly painless, helpful introduction to UNIX scripting.

  4. sed & awk (2nd Edition)
    by Dale Dougherty, Arnold Robbins
    Product Details
    Paperback: 429 pages
    Publisher: O'Reilly; 2 edition (March 2, 1997)
    ISBN: 1565922255
    http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1565922255
    This is the best desktop reference on these two tools, which are of course used often inside UNIX scripting. Sed and awk are, as the book adequately puts it, UNIX "powertools". Sed is quite handy and awk is even better. This excellent book presents a breathtaking introduction to both of them.

  5. C Programming Language (2nd Edition)
    by Brian W. Kernighan, Dennis M. Ritchie
    Product Details
    Paperback: 274 pages
    Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR; 2 edition (March 22, 1988)
    ISBN: 0131103628
    http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0131103628
    If you need to program in C, you need this book and should By On Every C Programmer's Bookshelf. Some say its the best programming book they ever bought, but the real deal for me is that this book is concise , to the point and very sharp. The best part is that its only 274 pages in which all you need to know about C is covered. No need to read elsewhere.

  6. The UNIX Programming Environment
    by Brian W. Kernighan, Rob Pike
    Product Details
    Paperback: 357 pages
    Publisher: Prentice Hall (March 1, 1984)
    ISBN: 013937681X
    http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/013937681X
    Although this book is dated, it is the best book to learn the much-vaunted Unix "philosophy" in practice, and a perfect book for the beginning Unix programmer by the people who invented UNIX themselves.

  7. Internetworking with TCP/IP Vol.1: Principles, Protocols, and Architecture (4th Edition)
    by Douglas E. Comer
    Product Details
    Hardcover: 750 pages
    Publisher: Prentice Hall; 4th edition (January 18, 2000)
    ISBN: 0130183806
    http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0130183806
    This is the Best TCP/IP introduction you can find. Some call it the bible, some say its even better. It explains complex ideas about IP in simple terms and is a book which one reads from cover to cover. It offers the best insight.

  8. Unix Network Programming
    by W. Richard Stevens
    Product Details
    Hardcover: 768 pages
    Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR; 1st edition (January 23, 1990)
    ISBN: 0139498761
    http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0139498761
    Too bad Stevens has already passed away as his books still stand at a solitary altitude today. Get this version and read it from cover to cover. But why buy it when the author has newer versions out? Because (1) it is more concise and (2) it has info not in the other editions. I recommend you read this one cover-to-cover and buy the others as more detailed reference.

  9. Operating Systems: Design and Implementation (Second Edition)
    by Andrew S. Tanenbaum, Albert S. Woodhull
    Product Details
    Hardcover: 939 pages
    Publisher: Prentice Hall; 2nd edition (January 15, 1997)
    ISBN: 0136386776
    http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0136386776
    This is the definite book on Operating Systems and its design. This is the book which helped and inspired programmers like Linus Torvalds, Steven Tweedie, Fred van Kempen and many others to write their own Operating System or contribute to parts of it. That OS? Linux of course.

  10. Linux Device Drivers, 3rd Edition
    by Jonathan Corbet, Alessandro Rubini, Greg Kroah-Hartman
    Product Details
    Paperback: 615 pages
    Publisher: O'Reilly & Associates; 3 edition (February 10, 2005)
    ISBN: 0596005903
    http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0596005903
    This is the definite book to use as a device-driver reference for Linux. You need to know your skills though.

  11. Understanding the Linux Kernel (2nd Edition)
    by Daniel P. Bovet, Marco Cesati
    Product Details
    Paperback: 816 pages
    Publisher: O'Reilly; 2 edition (December, 2002)
    ISBN: 0596002130
    http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0596002130
    This book is an Exceptional treatment of the Linux Kernel, Excellent Book on OS Design. And should maybe used as a companion to the Linux Device Drivers Books. This book (or tome in many peoples eyes) is the utter definition of 'internals explained'.

  12. Linux Enterprise Cluster: Build a Highly Available Cluster with Commodity Hardware and Free Software
    by Karl Kopper
    Product Details
    Paperback: 464 pages
    Publisher: No Starch Press; 1 edition (May 15, 2005)
    ISBN: 1593270364
    http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1593270364
    This is the first book I have seen on Linux clustering that not only provides a theoretical background but also a complete detail on how to actually implement it in the real world. He details setting up the heartbeat, IP failover, NAT, synchronizing and cloning, handling packets, and load balancing. Easily the best book on Linux Enterprise Cluster setup and maintenance that I have seen to date, The Linux Enterprise Cluster is highly recommended.