Learn how to – Best Linux Books for Beginners & Experts 2023

Learn how to – Best Linux Books for Beginners & Experts 2023.

Introduction

Every system Administrator remembers the allure, the frustration and the fun that came with those early days of grappling, messing and rebuilding their Linux Boxes when the interest arrested them. That exploratory journey of pits and falls enhanced their learning and made them who they are today. For the ones who have that similar calling and irresistible urge to know what goes on in the world of Linux and Administration in general, this article tries to shed some light by exposing some Top Linux Books for Beginners that will really be of help to you. Welcome to the sect.

“From what we get in life, we make a living. From what we give, we make a life.”
– Arthur Ashe

The following are top books that you can check out as you venture into sharpening your skills through the acquisition of knowledge.

1. The Linux Command Line, 2nd Edition

The Linux Command Line takes you from your very first terminal keystrokes to writing full programs in Bash, the most popular Linux shell (or command line). Along the way, you’ll learn the timeless skills handed down by generations of experience, mouse-shunning gurus: file navigation, environment configuration, command chaining, pattern matching with regular expressions, and more.

In addition to that practical knowledge, author William Shotts reveals the philosophy behind these tools and the rich heritage that your desktop Linux machine has inherited from Unix supercomputers of yore.

As you make your way through the book’s short, easily-digestible chapters, you’ll learn how to:

• Create and delete files, directories, and symlinks
• Administer your system, including networking, package installation, and process management
• Use standard input and output, redirection, and pipelines
• Edit files with Vi, the world’s most popular text editor
• Write shell scripts to automate common or boring tasks
• Slice and dice text files with cut, paste, grep, patch, and sed

Buy it now on Amazon:

2. Linux Command Line and Shell Scripting Bible, 4th Edition

This book by Richard Blum serves as a basic and very essential Linux resource that will guide you with plenty of examples. Linux Command Line and Shell Scripting Bible immediately goes into the fundamentals of the command line, introduces you to bash scripting which will be very important in your day-to-day Linux administration and goes the extra mile by providing detailed examples. The third edition is the latest release, it has new updated content and examples aligned with the latest Linux features.

What is attractive about this resource is how the author has gone out of the way to provide sound tutorials that you can easily follow through and actually understand. The examples are apt and relevant. With patience and hard work, this can serve your curious appetite with bliss.

The latest edition includes brand-new content covering:

• Understanding the Shell  
• Writing Simple Script Utilities  
• Producing Database, Web & Email Scripts  
• Creating Fun Little Shell Scripts 

Check it out on Amazon:

3. UNIX and Linux System Administration Handbook 5th Edition by Evi Nemeth, Garth Snyder, Trent R. Hein, Ben Whaley, Dan Mackin

UNIX® and Linux® System Administration Handbook, Fifth Edition, is today’s definitive guide to installing, configuring, and maintaining any UNIX or Linux system, including systems that supply core Internet and cloud infrastructure.

Updated for new distributions and cloud environments, this comprehensive guide covers best practices for every facet of system administration, including:

• Storage management,
• Network design and administration,
• Security, web hosting, automation,
• Configuration management,
• Performance analysis,
• Virtualization,
• DNS,
• Security, and the management of IT service organizations.
• Cloud platforms
• DevOps philosophy
• Continuous deployment
• Containerization
• Monitoring

A complete review plus much more is found on Amazon. Have a look here:

4. Linux: The Complete Reference, Sixth Edition

Richard Petersen, a Linux Expert has once again released this book that gives the reader an in-depth coverage of all Linux features. As a beginner, you will have the advantage of having a thorough coverage of all aspects of Linux distributions ranging from shells, desktops, deployment of servers, management of applications, understanding security and a good grounding of basic network administration.

Linux: The Complete Reference is the ultimate guide where you will have the chance to learn how to:

• Administer any Linux distribution by installing and configuring them
• File and directory administration/manipulation from the BASH, TCSH, and Z shells
• Understand and use various desktop environments such as GNOME and KDE desktops, X Windows, and display managers
• Understand how to install essential applications such as Office, database, connection to the Internet, and manage multimedia applications
• Configure and manage IPv6, DHCPv6, NIS, networking, and remote access
• Have a good coverage of security by learning SELinux, netfilter, SSH, and Kerberos
• Get a good grounding of encryption such as encrypting network transmissions with GPG, LUKS, and IPsec
• Acquire skills in deploying FTP, Web, mail, proxy, print, news, and database servers and many more.
• Administer system resources using HAL, udev, and virtualization (KVM and Xen)

Check it out on Amazon using the link below.

5. How Linux Works, 3rd Edition: What Every Superuser Should Know by Brian Ward

As you may know, Linux is an open-source Operating System/Kernel. What this means is that you have full control of your computer. You can do whatever you like with it. That can be so powerful if you have a nuanced understanding of how its internals work. Like how the system boots, how networking works, and what the kernel actually does.

In this completely revised second edition of the perennial best seller How Linux Works, author Brian Ward makes the concepts behind Linux internals accessible to anyone curious about the inner workings of the operating system. Inside, you’ll find the kind of knowledge that normally comes from years of experience doing things the hard way.

In this book, you will learn:

• How Linux boots, from boot loaders to init implementations (systemd, Upstart, and System V)
• How the kernel manages devices, device drivers, and processes
• How networking, interfaces, firewalls, and servers work
• How development tools work and relate to shared libraries
• How to write effective shell scripts

What is more, you will get to explore the kernel and examine key system tasks inside user space, including system calls, input and output, and file systems. With its combination of background, theory, real-world examples, and patient explanations, How Linux Works will teach you what you need to know to solve pesky problems and take control of your operating system.

To purchase this book, visit the link below:

6. Linux for Beginners: An Introduction to the Linux Operating System and Command Line

Beginning anything in life is always marred with a myriad of hurdles and unprecedented impediments. When it comes to learning a new skill, the same applies especially when it comes to system administration and Learning Linux from scratch.

Thanks to Jason Cannon for authoring Linux for Beginners which makes absolutely no assumption about the reader’s background. It, therefore, holds the learner’s hand from the very beginning and walks them all the way to a comfortable place of expertise. You will get to learn stuff like:

• What a Linux distribution with the variety there is out there
• Screenshots of how to connect to Linux from Mac and Windows computers
• What SSH is and how to use it, including creating and using SSH keys.
• Basics of remote login technologies such as SSH and how to use it.
• How the Linux File system is designed
• Where to find programs, configurations, and documentation.
• Most used Linux basic commands
• Exactly how permissions work and how to easily decipher the most cryptic Linux permissions.
• What pipes are, why they are useful, and how to use them.
• File and directory manipulation
• Text editing with nano, vi, and emacs editors.
• Permissions of files and directories including how they work.
• How to use the nano, vi, and emacs editors.
• How to compare the contents of files and much much more.
• How to compress files to save space and make transferring data easy.

Check it out on Amazon

7. A Hands-on Guide: Introduction to Linux

It can be daunting and confusing when you have installed a Linux distribution for the first time and you wonder where to go from there. A thorough and simple guide such as this one takes you all the way from the history of Linux to the very basic navigation of Linux distributions.

This guide by Machtelt Garrels has been crafted for the total beginner. With the many scattered resources across the web, this resource takes the responsibility of giving a comprehensive overview of the Linux Operating System.

There are many exercises at the end of each chapter to keep you challenged and motivated. It also serves as an easy-to-use reference for advanced users. This is an excellent foundation builder as you proceed to deeper concepts of Linux and Network administration.

Some of the stuff you will learn include:

• Installing software, and package management.
• Initial setups
• Command Line Interface
• Files management, and necessary Linux commands
• Linux files system and partitioning
• Desktop environment, Graphical User interface,
• Shell Script, and setup
• X window system and configuration and fonts set up

The link to Amazon is below.

8. Linux Bible 10th Edition

Brought to you by veteran bestselling author Christopher Negus and Christine Bresnahan (contributor), Linux Bible brings to you a complete tutorial packed with major updates, revisions, and hands-on exercises so that you can confidently start using Linux today.

There are exercises in abundance aimed to make your learning interesting and hence enable it as a better learning tool. Moreover, Linux Bible places an emphasis on the Linux command line tools and can be used with all distributions and versions of Linux.

In this article you will learn:

• Get Linux up and running quickly
• Master basic operations and tackle more advanced tasks
• Get up to date on the recent changes to Linux server system management
• Bring Linux to the cloud using Openstack and Cloudforms
• Simplified Linux administration through the Cockpit Web Interface 
• Automated Linux Deployment with Ansible 
• Learn to navigate Linux with Amazon (AWS), Google (GCE), and Microsoft Azure Cloud services 

9. Linux Essentials, Second Edition

Authored by Christine Bresnahan (Author) and Richard Blum (Contributor) Linux Essentials has a professional approach that aims at developing one for the Linux Administration profession as well as passing the Linux Essentials exam.

It has hands-on tutorials and a learning-by-doing style of learning that equips you with a solid foundation as well as gives you the confidence to pass the Linux Essentials Exam. For beginners with a keen interest in joining the IT industry as a professional or anyone kickstarting the Linux Operating system administration, this book is highly recommended.

By reading this book, you will be able to:

• Explore command functions, that include navigating the command line, turning commands into scripts, and more
• Know the basics of the Linux operating system, including distributions, types of open-source applications, freeware, licensing, operations, navigation, and more
• Access lessons that are organized by task. This will allow you to quickly identify the topics you are looking for and navigate the comprehensive information presented by the book.

10. Practical Guide to Linux Commands, Editors, and Shell Programming (4th Edition)

Nowadays, Linux is the dominant internet server platform. Therefore, system administrators and developers need to frequently develop their Linux skills which include shells and command line knowledge. This is the book that can help you achieve the required level of Linux mastery. This book written by a renowned Linux expert Mark Sobell, covers detailed and insightful guidance on the tools used by sysadmins and developers in their day-to-day activities. This was updated with the assistance of the new coauthor Matthew Helmke.

By reading this book, you will learn:

• A deep introduction to Python for system administrators.
• A MariaDB chapter to help you understand this ubiquitous relational database management system (RDBMS)
• Explanations with practicals of core utilities, from aspell to xargs, including printf and sshfs/curlftpfs, PLUS macOS–specific utilities from ditto to SetFile
• Tips and hacks that can be used when customizing the shell, including step values, sequence expressions, the eval builtin, and implicit command-line continuation
• Detailed steps when updating systems using apt-get and dnf
• Deep knowledge of the bash and tcsh shells, including a complete discussion of environment, inheritance, and process locality, plus coverage of basic and advanced shell programming
• Explanations of core utilities, from aspell to xargs, including printf and sshfs/curlftpfs, PLUS macOS–specific utilities from ditto to SetFile
• Knowledge on automating remote backups using rsync
• Tips and tricks on implementing secure communications using ssh and scp
• Other Linux tools and concepts such as BitTorrent, gawk, sed, find, sort, bzip2, and regular expressions

View detailed information and reviews of this book using the below link.

11. Linux Administration: A Beginner’s Guide, Eighth Edition 8th Edition

This is the practical go-to guide when you need to effectively set up and manage Linux distributions on individual servers, as well as build entire network infrastructures. The Linux Administration: A Beginner’s Guide, Eighth Edition 8th Edition by Wale Soyinka, has been fully updated to cover all the latest tools and technologies on Linux.

In this comprehensive guide, you can learn the following:

• Setting up and administering core system services, daemons, users, and groups on Linux.
• How to manage software applications from source code or binary packages.
• Building, patching and customising the Linux kernel.
• How to install and configure the various Linux distributions such as Fedora, Ubuntu, CentOS, openSUSE, Debian, and RHEL.
• Get a full understanding of the Linux network stack and networking protocols, including TCP/IP, ARP, IPv4, and IPv6.
• How to create and maintain DNS, FTP, web, e-mail, print, LDAP, VoIP, and SSH servers and services.
• How to run and manage Linux-based servers in popular cloud environments, that include OpenStack, AWS, Azure, Linode, and GCE.
• The virtualization and container technologies with popular tools such as KVM, Docker, Kubernetes, and Open Container Initiative (OCI).

You can obtain a copy of this book by following the link below:

12. Linux Pocket Guide: Essential Commands 3rd Edition by Daniel J. Barrett

Once in a while, you forget to do some commands on your terminal because you haven’t used them for a while. This popular pocket guide is the perfect on-the-job reference and say goodbye to forgetting them often. This new third edition features new commands for processing image files and audio files, running and killing programs, reading and modifying the system clipboard, and manipulating PDF files, as well as other commands requested by readers. You’ll also find powerful command-line idioms you might not be familiar with, such as process substitution and piping into bash.

Master the most useful and important commands on this concise and functional reference. This guide provides quick answers to the following selected topics:

• The filesystem and shell
• File creation and editing
• Text manipulation and pipelines
• Backups and remote storage
• Viewing and controlling processes
• User account management
• Becoming the superuser
• Network connections
• Audio and video
• Installing software
• Programming with shell scripts

Further details of how you can get your copy are on the below link, please click and find out more.

13. Learn Linux Quickly

When learning, looking for a resource to help you gain proficiency in a specific topic is essential. Learn Linux Quickly is an excellent book written in straightforward language that beginners to experts can understand and follow easily. Code Quickly and Paul H Bartley, the authors, take you through terminal keystrokes to writing complete programs in Bash, a command line interface, and a famous Linux Shell. You are introduced to Linux while diving deep into troubleshooting, file navigation, command chaining, pattern matching, environment configuration, and more.

It is s book you should include in your IT library as it has solid and detailed content on Linux. Information in this learning material is enough to provide a proper understanding of how Linux works and the knowledge required for the daily use of Linux. From the 194 pages, there are more than enough details, and the concepts are explained in an easy-to-follow manner plus, the examples assist the user in understanding this compressive guide. You will attain more skills by engaging with the hands-On project that guides you through practical usage of Linux Command Line(Ubuntu). Buy this book today, start learning, and realize that a command line is just a simple and natural way for a user to communicate with a computer. 

Acquire more Linux knowledge from these topics:

• Create and delete files, directories, and symlinks
• Steps on using standard input and output, redirection, and pipelines
• Administering your system, including account creation, package installation, and process management
• Editing files with Vim, one of the world’s most popular text editor
• How to master writing shell scripts to automate every day or tedious tasks
• Slice and dice text files using grep, uniq, sed, and sort

14. Linux for Beginners: Why You’re Not Using Linux Yet and How to Overcome Command Line Fear

 Understanding the Linux operating system is incredible and offers you valuable skills you need as an IT person or a hobbyist. For those who struggle to master its enigmatic ways, they should dive first into Linux learning materials that will expose them to the knowledge they desire. Remember that the world’s supercomputers, websites, and most innovative devices are powered by Linux, making it a popular and powerful OS. You can start your journey today by reading and grasping the content of this fantastic book. If you find switching from your previous operating system to Linux complex, here is the right book for you. 

Nathan Clark, the author, has a knack for explaining a complex subject in a way that a novice will understand. In this book, you will start from the basics topics, including the history of Linux, the evolution of UNIX, and a step-by-step installation guide. As you progress, the author will dig deep into more detailed or complex topics, including commands and terminals. It is a clear and concise book ensuring you easily follow the topics while practically exercising what you learn. Beginners are encouraged to use this book and kill the fear of using Linux as the writer has offered the best learning material hence nothing should hold you back.

Excellent knowledge gained from this book includes:

• Master how to install Linux step by step (with pictures) in less than 1 hour.
• Finding and installing apps that work with your specific distribution.
• Things to do when a Linux system freezes, crashes, or has unexpected errors.
• Best distribution is for an experienced Windows user who has never used Linux.
• Why programmers prefer using Linux over Windows and macOS, and how Linux can help you become a better programmer.
• Creating partitions and mounting the correct file system for your needs.
• Protecting yourself from threats by understanding the areas of your system that are vulnerable to attack.

15. CompTIA Linux+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Second Edition (Exam XK0-005) 2nd Edition

Certificates are essential as they demonstrate to prospective or current employers that you have strong baseline knowledge in a specific area. CompTIA Linux+ is one of the certificates a new, junior-level, or any Linux enthusiast should consider having, as it confirms that the candidate has the skills to install, maintain a network, and secure Linux-based infrastructure. However, to get the certificate, you must pass the CompTIA Linux+ Certification Exam, which requires the proper revision and learning materials to make it happen. Luckily, this guide is determined to provide top-notch content, practice exam questions, exam tips, and in-depth answers and explanations for the candidates. 

Notably, with this certificate, you will showcase your skills in Linux command line, configuring workstations, networking, and essential maintenance. Here is a well-written book with the tools and guidance you need to pass the exam. Ted Jordana and Sandor Stroh Mayer are the book’s authors, and their advanced experience in Linux has enabled them to produce a top-grade book. Also, they have divided the chapters into small sections to make it easy for the reader to follow, easily navigate, and thoroughly understand the content.  Get 100% coverage of the CompTIA Linux Exam topics by purchasing this book and ultimately pass the examination questions.

From this top-notch Guide: you will interact with the following topics:

• How to use the vi text editor
• Easy ways of working with the Linux shell
• Managing Linux users, groups, files, and directories
• Understand how to administer ownership, permissions, and quotas
• Installing Linux and managing the boot process
• Configuring the graphical environment
• Managing software and hardware
• Master writing shell scripts
• Managing network settings and services
• Securing Linux and using encryption

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