Rating: 
Summary: Very Poor for the Mastering Series
Review: There are NO clear, step by step instructions like in most of the "Mastering" series. I'm on my 12th forced reboot in trying to follow what instructions (not sure what these sentences are) that are provided. From this book, it is impossible to intall Linux Red Hat. I will have to purchase the software and instructions direct from Red Hat if I wish to get this far. I have purchased 5-7 books from Sybex, but I will never purchase another book authored by Mr. Danesh or Mr. Jang.
Rating:
Summary: Very Poor for the Mastering Series
Review: There are NO clear, step by step instructions like in most of the "Mastering" series. I'm on my 12th forced reboot in trying to follow what instructions (not sure what these sentences are) that are provided. From this book, it is impossible to intall Linux Red Hat. I will have to purchase the software and instructions direct from Red Hat if I wish to get this far. I have purchased 5-7 books from Sybex, but I will never purchase another book authored by Mr. Danesh or Mr. Jang.
Rating:
Summary: Not for the Linux newcomer, either.
Review: This book has some serious shortcomings. As noted by other reviewers, it lacks depth for linux admins. A good alternative maybe texts from linuxdoc.org. It also suffers from the page bloat that characterizes computer books. Many pages are taken up with redundant instructions and useless screenshots (why attempt to explain a change in color with black and white graphics?). But perhaps the greatest shortcoming is that the book lacks good integration with the accompanying CD. If you think by following the text's installation instructions you can work through the book, think again. Early in the book, instruction is given on GNOME. However, two critical apps for the GNOME demo are missing from the install (The Gimp and Gnumeric). The chapters on KDE are even worse. To top it off, if you followed advice at the start of the book, you would not have net connectivity and could not get out on the web to get the files necessary to follow along with the text. Ughhhh! If the software matched the book, this product could be a gem. Instead it is another overpriced, over-promising, and under-delivering heap, not worth the (...)price (...). If you have experience with Linux, this book may disappoint you. If you lack experience with Linux, save yourself some $$ and frustration and don't start here.Please note that since this book's release this summer, Red Hat 7.2 has been released.
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