Rating: 
Summary: Great book even for a beginner
Review: I was completely new to Unix system administration. Every time I had a question -- that even my experienced fellow administrators didn't know the answer to -- I was able to find it in this book. It does a good job of differentating between flavors of UNIX (Solaris, HP-UX, ..) The only reason I can't give it 5 stars is becuase I have not had a chance to read Evi Nemeth's UNIX Sysadm handbook which is also highly rated.
Rating: 
Summary: Linux users need this book
Review: I am fairly new to Linux, and started by purchasing a number of O'Reilly's other titles on Linux. Some of them were very good, some of them not so good. While I have two working Linux boxes on my company network, I still had many unanswered questions about why things worked the way they did. I initially avoided this book because it was for Unix system administration, however, in a fit of desperation I purchased it and it has been *the* most useful general purpose book I have purchased for using Linux.Certainly there are a number of specific purpose books that cover many of the topics presented here in greater detail, however, for an overview of the entire system--how it works and why it works the way it does this book is indespensable. All you Linux users out there should get this book!
Rating:
Summary: A great guide for system administrators
Review: Is a great book, that helps to system administrators to understand a couple of topics about Unix systems. The coverage of monitoring is explained in detail form and teachs different unix modalities. I recommend this book for a people with 2 or 3 years of experience in unix adminstration and also is helpful to obtain a scope in performance and tunning. Nevertheless, for a deep knowledge, its necessary obtain a specialized book.
Rating:
Summary: The one "must have"
Review: Explains nicely the differences between SYS V4 and BSD style systems and its roots,file structures,shell init,back ups,printing.. if you need it, it is in here. hunsolo/-,--'- MCP hired gun
Rating:
Summary: Quite Informative...
Review: I am a NT system administrator by day, but I am quickly learning the shortcomings of that system. So I decided to take a good, hard look at Linux. Among the many books that I had bought was this one. After just skimming over it for 30 minutes, I learned more than I had in the last few books I read. This book is very technical, but written on such a level that it doesn't make the technicalities intimidating or confusing. A great ref book for a person who is now a UNIX admin, a great book for those who wish to learn.
Rating:
Summary: O'Reilly Books Rock!
Review: Essential System Administration not only teaches you how to admin Unix systems, it teaches you how to truly understand and use Unix systems. The first chapter alone holds tons of information for Unix beginners and intermediates. Another great book from O'Rielly
Rating: 
Summary: A sub-par entry from our friends at O'Reilly
Review: Last year I bought two system admin. books before taking on a Unix network as part of a new job. I found this book pathetic, especially compared to the treatment in Unix System Adminstration Handbook (Nemeth, et al.). Frish's treatment might be useful as a guide for advanced users, but for really tackling day-to-day adminstration issues, I found Nemeth (or the web) to be the only useful resources.
Rating:
Summary: Has a bit of everything
Review: If I had to admin all different *nix systems, but could only have one book, this would probably be the one. Doesn't go heavily in depth in anything, and I wish it had more Sun info; but I like it a lot. When I hear that a friend who hasn't done admin type work is going to be doing some - I recommend they get this book first. (Then get some books targeting the main OS they will be using)
Rating:
Summary: Perfect for those who are caught between userdom and gurudom
Review: I'm not a smart man. But I know what Unix is. Or I thought I did. This book helped me learn the way Unix THINKS. It's a little old, but it's a great resource for people who know how to think, but don't know how to think like a sysadmin yet. Another O'Reilly triumph.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, but sometimes awkward, tutorial and reference.
Review: This is an outstanding reference covering the most common Unix administration issues I've ever cared to know about. Its progression between topics is smooth and easy to follow. It also addresses many Unix flavors, which is nifty too. My only gripe is sometimes the wording is quite awkward; like this sentence from page 33: "This access type grants execute access to the specified access classes only when execute access is already set for some access class."
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