Rating: 
Summary: Nice "manual" for Red Hat Linux
Review: Linux has been touted as an "alternative" to Windows and is slowly growing in popularity as an OS for the PC. This book is an excellent "guide" to learning about Red Hat Linux, which is one of the most popular Linux versions out there.Since it is quite similar to Unix, anyone with familiarity in Unix will easily pick up the 'nuances" of Linux. The book begins with a general look at Unix, then preparing to and installing it. It also touches upon general commands, installing and using the related X-Windows system. Also covered are Linux applications, games, setting up Linux-based LANs and connecting to the Internet. All in all, an excellent introduction to Linux.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Introduction to Linux
Review: My only mistake about buying this book is it wasn't my first one. I really think it does an awesome job of taking you thru most of the questions you'd have as a new user of Red Hat Linux, and explains things fully enough for now. When you're finished with this, getting O'Reilly's Running Linux is definitely a good follow-up purchase. It seems every question i went crazy trying to figure out with all of my advanced books, was right here in Learning Red Hat Linux. If you're new to the game, get this book.
Rating:
Summary: The best intro Linux book
Review: O'Reilly and Bill McCarty have done it again - they've gone ahead and created an awesome intro Linux book. In the same vein as Running Linux by Matt Welsh (the bible), this is a really good book for anyone who wants to get into Linux. I have been a Linux user since 1991 back when no one really knew about Linux and the Kernel was still at 0.99. I cut my teeth on SLS and Slackware releases of Linux before moving to RedHat and the O'Reilly books have been just incredible. In fact, I still have the first edition of Running Linux by Matt Welsh that I bought in 1995. Having said all that, I just bought this book for the free copy of Red Hat 7.2 included in it. But I still spent a couple of hours going through the book and I am thoroughly impressed with the treatment each subjects gets in this book. Starting with the installation to configuring and installing X, GNOME to setting up networking, this book is a complete resource for anyone starting up with Linux.
Rating: 
Summary: Maybe for Newbies but still confusing
Review: So far I've found the book only "somewhat" useful and like most Installing Linux books, it starts off with some terrible (contradictory) advice when it comes to partitioning. For example, the author states in Chapter 2: "... use FIPS to split the FAT32 partition. Once you've run FIPS, you can use FDISK to delete the new empty partition, creating free space for Linux" Makes sense until you read the next section which tells you how to use FIPS to create the new empty partition and follows up with this advice: "Now you're ready to install Linux to the new empty partition." Hello? You told me earlier that I was supposed to delete the new empty partition to make space for Linux, now you're telling me to install Linux to the new empty partition, which is it?!?! I now have three "Installing Linux" books (O'Reilly, SAMS, and Teach Yourself Visually) they all leave out a little something, making this "newbie" a little hesitant to go any further. I would say that contrary to what people are saying these books are not written for beginners, rather for people who probably wouldn't need a book to install Linux in the first place
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: The first thing that impressed me was the way Learning Red Hat Linux was written. It read more like a novel then a technical manual/book, and I found myself excited to see what was on the next page. The book is a quick get-you-started guide that explains what you need to know then moves on and does not spend too much time dilly-dallying. There were some things that were skimmed over, but the author pointed out web sites that went into more detail. The chapter on shell scripting was a great introduction. For novice Linux users it is a great way to get your fingertips wet with the powerful command line, and shell scripting. The book quickly explains how to set up samba, ftp, email, Apache and SSH, as well as an introduction to the RPM package manager. Added bonus was the two Red Hat 7.2 CD's so I didn't have to download them. Microsoft OS readers should NOT pickup up this book, it will make you want to format your OS and install Linux, it did for me!
Rating:
Summary: Good but brief
Review: This book covers the basics of linux. It will help the beginner setup their system and get the basic applications and server software running. I would recommend this book only to the person who is new to linux AND generally take more time grasping computer concepts. Although the book went into many different topics of linux, none of them were really in depth enough to give the reader a understanding of what was going on(kind of a do this and this will result book). Which is ok unless you have any problems. then you will find yourself stuck and searching through other countless documentations.
Rating: 
Summary: Only symbols and images, no concepts!
Review: This book does tell you some essential things about LINUX, but this is not enough at all. Being surrounded by pictures and tips, I really can't learn anything that concerns the main part of LINUX. It is no better than a thickened Redhat user's manual! Too Pratical! If you really want to "LEARN" LINUX, you'd better go and buy RUNING LINUX which is far better than this book!
Rating:
Summary: An excellent place to start
Review: This book is an excellent place to start when trying to learn Linux. It is good for getting a new user to the point that they can use their Linux system to do most of the basic things that nearly everone can do with Windows. It doesn't go very in depth on more advanced topics, that's left to other O'Reilley books. For what this book is intended for, introducing the reader to Linux and getting them using it at a beginners level, it does a great job. You'll still have lots of learning to do after reading this book if you want to become proficient with Linux and all its tools.
Rating: 
Summary: Looking for a shallow spot to wade into Linux?
Review: This book is an excellent primer book for beginners jumping into Linux. More specifically, Red Hat Linux version 7.2 though they are currently working on 7.4 beta. The author presents the chapters logically beginning with step-by-step installation and leading into familiarizing you with the more useful applications available. I would have wished for a more thorough look into Samba and Apache but that may have been out of the target audience they were aiming for. There is information dealing with setting up networking, DHCP service and modem configuration. By the way, you might as well toss out your winmodem and obtain a hardware modem (external is the best) as the author does not mention the difficulty when trying to get one to work. You also get one full chapter dealing with shell commands which should wet anyone's appetite to learn more. Overall, not a bad book to begin with. Seasoned Linux professionals need not apply.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Good Intro to Linux
Review: This book is good if you know networking OSes and want to learn Red Hat. I am an NT Engineer, and I found that this text assumes you know certain things and explains how to do them in the Linux world. I am also running Red Hat 7.0, and this book covers previous releases, so I missed out on some of the major changes. I guess that's what you get if you want to run the most recent OS. One thing I wanted to know was the file(s) you need to configure to have services start at bootup. I couldn't find it in this book, but I haven't found it online yet, either. The appendices were very good in showing the commands and their usage, and there is a very decent explanation of shell scripting. Overall, if you are familiar with OSes, FTP, Web Servers, etc., and you want to break into Red Hat (previous to version 7.0), this is a good book.
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