Paul M Foster wrote:
>
> On Tue, May 08, 2001 at 11:18:06AM -0400, Norbert Cartagena wrote:
>
> >
> > > If you really want to learn Linux, buy a book like "Running Linux". Read
> > > it while in front of your console, and experiment while you read.
> > >
> > > And you can always ask questions. ;-}
> > >
> >
> > Actually (Speaking from experience here) "Running Linux" is probably a
> > book you DON'T want as a beginner.
>
> Over time, _Running Linux_ has generally been acknowledged as the best
> book in this genre. That's why I make that suggestion. However, I can't
> personally evaluate that, since I'm not a newbie Windows user. I'm
> always interested in better newbie books. Some time ago, I bought _Linux
> For Dummies_ and had Nancy take a look at it. She thought it was pretty
> good.
>
> If anyone has any _newbie-tested_ book recommendations, I'm interested.
>
> Paul
Thayt's why I suggested the books I suggested - those WERE the books I
used as a newbie (to a point, I still consider myself the such in many
MANY aspects). My experiece previous that in the Windows world was not
anything to brag about, either (I used to considered HTML programming!!!
Now, I can proudly laugh at myself believing that, knowing that now at
least I know C and understand the difference between scripting and
programming). From a newbie's standopoint, it all depends on how much
work you want to do, how much reading you're willing to do, and how much
cash you can spend (can you afford $50, or is $20 pretty much your
limit?). If you are willing to spend the time because you want to get
really good, you go with the McGraw Hill "Complete Guide" or the QUE
"Special Edition: Linux". Lots of reading, but simple reading, lots of
step-by-steps and "here's what's going on under the hood". If you just
want answers and nada mas, then you go with the 24hrs and the Dummies
books. Of course, you could use the Dummies and the 24hrs and the Crash
Course books to springboard you into the thick books (McGraw Hill and
QUE), but I wouldn't recomend it, unless you - like me - like owning as
many books as you possibly can (if I collect anything, it's gotta be
books).
Again, I say this from experience, what I did as a newbie myself. As a
newbie, I wanted a step by step, but at my own pace and lots of "Ooohh,
what does this do?" explanations (I killed my system enough times when I
first started because I wondered "Ohh.. what does this /proc/*** do...?
OOPS!!!" and "Hey, what's this /usr/bin/ place and why are all these
programs here?" This is why I recomend these books. They give you step
by steps and - more importanty - "This is why you're doing this"
explanations. O'reilly is really good at the "Here's why you're doing
this" part, but NOT at the step by step by ANY means.
Norb
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