When this book fell out of its shipping envelope, it made quite a thunk as it hit my desk. No wonder: at almost 800 pages, this is quite a chunk of reading material.

I had been impressed by the first edition. The only real complaint I had about that was its exclusive focus on Debian Linux; that's been corrected here. The first edition was available on-line in its entirety; this is not, although you can see a sample chapter and the table of contents at (...).

Unlike the first edition, this covers a lot more basic material. Don't let that turn you off if you have outgrown the beginner books - unless you are expert at everything, you'll find helpful material here. There are pointers to esoteric utilities you probably have never heard of mixed in with the "getting started" stuff.

I was interested that Amazon reviews were luke-warm. I think it deserves better. I would have liked to see less attention to the real basics, but that does make this useful to the beginner also. One Amazon review didn't like it because it was too geeky, a complaint I can't sympathise with. Another didn't like the concentration on command line tools - I hope that isn't a sign of things to come where Linux users join their Windows brethren in disdain of character based interfaces.

If you are used to the O'Reilly cookbook formula you won't find that here. This is really and end-to-end user level walkthrough of Linux from the shell through the operating system and into applications. It's complete, but I found the text a little terse and stiff. Illustrations are sparse and underused.

This book covers the shell, X windows, text editing, text manipulation, file system commands, network access, configuration and other common Linux areas of interest. It has a wide range of coverage, which means that even though the book is quite thick the time spent on any one topic is fairly light. One exception is text manipulation, which is covered in significant depth.

This book is definitely worth the look, but you should also consider O'Reilly's "Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Fedora".

I had been using Linux for around two years when I came across this book. I was surprised there was so much more to know about Linux. After casually glancing through its pages I realised this was a treasure chest.

If you are the shell user type, you will definitely enjoy this book. If you are GUI user, you will start appreciating the shell.There are easier ways to do what you have been doing and this book will show you how to do those things.

Target Audience
Command line Linux users who want practical examples of how to do things.

Contents
This is a detailed book on how to accomplish a number of tasks using the command line interface of a Debian Linux distribution.

The book is divided into seven parts and the following chapters:

Part 1 - Working With Linux - Introduction; What Every Linux User Knows; The Shell; The X Window System
Part 2 - Files - Files and Directories; Sharing Files; Finding Files; Managing Files
Part 3 - Text - Viewing Text; Text Editing; Grammar and Reference; Analyzing Text; Formatting Text; Searching Text; Typesetting and Word Processing; Fonts
Part 4 - Images - Viewing Images; Editing Images; Importing Images; PostScript
Part 5 - Sound - Sound Files; Audio Compact Discs; Editing Sound Files
Part 6 - Productivity - Disk Storage; Printing; Cross-Platform Conversions; Reminders; Mathematics
Part 7 - Networking - Communications; Email; The World Wide Web; Other Internet Services;

Appendices - Administrative Issues; Linux Resources on the Web; License

Review
The true Unix geek and guru seems to be addicted to the command line interface of their system. Why use a mouse and a graphical interface if you can do it all via the keyboard and arcane system commands? If that appeals to you and describes your world, then this book will appeal to you.

Now, before I say anything else, there's one thing that the reader should know. This book was written in 2001, and I'll assume that the richness of the desktop graphical interfaces was not available back then. The book seems to be written from the assumption that the command line is the only game in town. The author makes a statement in the opening where he says this book will show "everyday users - artists, designers, businessmen, scholars, or scientists" how to use the tools and applications. I'm here to tell you... the average "user" he targets isn't in this group. You show me a typical accounting supervisor who will use a command line interface, and I'll admit I'm in error. But it isn't going to happen...

The book is written in "recipe" format. Each example is numbered, and any other special handling instructions are included up front (like additional packages to download). The command syntax is listed along with a "to get this type of result, do this:" list of command parameters. If you are interested in trying to accomplish a task as part of a shell script or to avoid using an interface with unnecessary features, this format will help you zero in on the specific information you're after.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the author is targeting the Debian Linux distribution. You may find a few variations you'll need to accommodate if you are running something different, but overall you should find value regardless of what Linux distribution you are running. It's all solid information if this is the type of Linux work you are doing.

Conclusion
A good title for Linux geeks or wanna-be geeks who want to learn how to use the command line interface to accomplish tasks. Definitely not a title for typical desktop users of Linux.

* * * * *

This book may have had Debian as its base, but, this book can easily be used with any distribution. I have been using Linux for six years now, and I was able to learn commands that I didn't know even existed. Don't pay any attention to those who will give this book only three stars simply because they didn't read the books discription and bought the wrong book. This one is a real winner. I antipipate that this book will be in my library for some time to come because most of the books contents go over stuff that will most likely not change very much over time.

* * * * *

The books is full of information, but it seems that the author forgot (or ignores the fact) that all current Linux distributions have a graphical interface. The recipies describe how to use cumbersome command line tools, although graphical tools are available. I also felt that there were often things that were missing or really did not belong under the heading of "everyday use".

Even though this book is written over the keyboard of a Debian system. There is a lot of good usable command line utilities and programs that would be usefull on, I can only imagine, any distribution. This book has, so far, been actually fun book to go through, and I have learned a lot of commands and other things that I didn't know existed before. This is really a great book for the linux user who is ready to make the step from the "newby" stage to the intermediate stage, and beyond.

I am glad I got bought this book.!!!!!!!!

.

This book didn't quite go as far as I'd wanted. I was expecting something more for the intermediate Unix user, but this was more for the beginner. People considering this book should compare it with "UNIX for the Impatient (2nd Edition)".

This book spends a lot of time on simple operations (like formatting text and piping tools together), reiterating man pages (like giving command line options), or discussing in-depth tools that people aren't likely to use much (like lynx and not Netscape or Mozilla).

The "Networking" section was also a joke. It spent just a few pages on PPP, and nothing on anything else. I was really interested in learning about Samba, DNS, firewalls, Web servers, etc., but I guess I'll have to find another book for that.

On the plus side, I *did* learn some things (for instance, I'd never used lynx before, and find it handy now that I've been exposed to it), and the author provides many links to interesting sites full of additional information and tools to download.

All in all, a mixed bag.

The Linux Cookbook is exactly what I was looking
for as someone just getting into Linux. I tried
others but none showed me how to use Linux for
daily use. That is where this book excels. It's
packed with information that you can actually USE!
It wins on best value for the price, hands down.

This book offers an extremist view of Linux.
It shows you how to do your everyday computer
work using ONLY open source software - many
Linux books take a much less "pure" view of
the system. But that's not all. It can also
claim what others can't. The dirty little
secret of Linux books is most authors use M$
to write and publish them! But Stutz is a
GNU/Linux fanatic, and he wrote and produced
the whole thing with ONLY Open Source software!
This in effect means that the book itself is
an example of the kind of things you can do
with Linux. And if that wasn't enough this book
is also Open Source! If he is right that the
Open Source movement is about to transform book
publishing like it transformed software, then
this book is a glimpse at the future.

And by the way, Linux Cookbook is packed with
lots great tips! It is a thorough guide for
learning how to use any Linux system, regardless
of your distro or hardware. It is refreshing to
see such an extreme view brought to the everyday
user. Dare I suggest that it may one day be
regarded as a "classic for the masses".

You'd think with a title like "Linux Cookbook" that you'd get a information not stilted toward any particular distribution. Instead, you get a Debian Linux guide. While the book is thorough, it's title is misleading.

If you're looking for a general guide to help with running Linux, this isn't it. If however, you'd like a guide on getting started with Debian and how to accomplish a variety of tasks under Debian, this is the book for you.

If I only had the choice of one Linux book this would be it..
It is ideal for new users and wizards....Ideal bedside book too..
Buy two copies !!

I use this book all the time at work where we are
using Linux more and more. This was first just for
Systems but now I am using Linux for my own productivity,
writing reports and printing. I love the power of the
commands and it's all in this book! I do take exception
to the reader below who wanted to change case of file
names "manually" - this person should reread the book's
intro as all Open Source software is out on the Internet
made by different people, this is what makes it so powerful.
But that is the joy of this book. It's format and coverage
makes it fill a gap that has been sorely needed in the
Open Source / Free Software community.

I liked this book. It has a lot of detailed information on how to do common (and not so common) tasks in Linux.

The reason I knocked off a star in my rating is that I thought the book would have been better if it stuck with standard Linux commands instead of focusing on commands that are not normally available.

For example, one thing that I have done in the past, but can never remember how to do is changing the file extension of multiple files with one command. This book tells you to do it with the chcase command. This is not a Linux command, but a little utility that someone wrote that I guess you can download from somewhere.

What I would rather have is an explaination of how to do this manually.

The Linux Cookbook: Tips And Techniques For Everyday Use is a complete hands-on guide and reference for using Linux for everyday activities ranging from working with text, images, and sound to productivity and networking. The step-by-step format makes it very easy for the novice to find what they need -- and fast! The more than 1500 {"recipes" show readers how to accomplish everyday tasks using all the free, Open Source software that comes with Linux. Readers will learn how to connect to the Internet, create posters, schedule automated reminders, archive entire Web sites, send and receive faxes, use spelling and grammar checkers, scan images, and more. If you are new to Linux and seeking to accelerate your learning curve, then get yourself a copy of Michael Stutz's The Linux Cookbook!

"More Stuff, Less Fluff" is the slogan for No Starch Press and nicely sums up this excellent reference guide. It's tersely written and straight to the point with a metric tonne of helpful tips on nearly every aspect of the Linux operating system. Perfect for the novice who wants to dive head-first into Linux and become productive fast, although experienced users looking for more esoteric material should look eleswhere. The Linux Cookbook by Michael Stutz is on par with O'Reilly's Running Linux for overall readability and usefullness, and I can give no higher compliment than that.

Michael Stutz practices what he preaches. He wrote and typeset the entire book using open source GNU/Linux tools exclusively. This book is a must for users at all levels. Instead of imitating M$ Michael Stutz shows and tells how to do nearly everything using "pure" GNU/Linux tools and applications. He has organised the book very well and struck a balance between terseness and verbosity. He has correctly chosen to order the material according to the jobs to do. He deals with real everyday tasks and configuration issues without trying to isolate the user from the system. He treats the user as an educated, intelligent human being with learning skills and willingness to do some real work. Michael Stutz has added real value instead of just copying HOWTOs. His book is a MUST for every GNU/Linux user. It is for the end user and is NOT a system administrator's handbook. Thanks, Michael, for the great job! May your book be translated into some other major languages.

Linux may be cool, but the documentation is horrible. There are tons of inconsistent HOWTO files, out of date FAQs, and a bunch of programmers that don't really see the problem. Whenever you want to do anything with Linux, you usually have to read every piece of documentation out there, and basically reverse-engineer a solution.

Most commercial Linux books for beginners (or at least for people who don't dig through C++ on a daily basis) are not well laid out. I should know - I wrote several chapters in one a few years back. They are usually organized by major system - a chapter on installation, one for video, one for sound, one for networking, and so on. But what if you want to write a book? Or record an album? Unless you can dig around on the web to find someone else doing the same thing, you are out of luck.

I'm glad that a book like this is out there. First, it is much more theoretical and philisophical than most approaches. That means it doesn't matter if you have RedHat 7.0 or 7.1 or whatever. It's just like if you are using a cookbook to make food - it doesn't matter if you use fresh-squeezed orange juice or Minute Maid orange juice, other than the difference in taste and texture - the basic lessons still apply.

I haven't seen other No Starch books, so I don't know if the look and feel is specific or part of the series, but it works. It's not a glossy, corporate taste - it's easy to flip through and fun to use. After reading a few pages to solve a problem, you're suddenly reading for hours and realizing that there are a lot of other things you could be doing with Linux - and that's the point. People don't need to be programmers to use a computer, and people can use their computer for more than email, web browsing and minesweeper. It's like you wanted a recipe to make some hamburgers, and you find a dozen new dishes you'll want to try for the next few weeks.

Great approach overall, and it's also very cool that you can download the entire thing for free at dsl.org, if you want to check it out first, or just have a copy on your local hard drive. I wish more books did this.

Overall, very excellent! Now I just need some more time to try out all of the things I've seen in here...

When I first saw this I was like "COOK" book? but then I flipped through it and I saw the light... the whole point is that you know what YOU want to do, and then you look up the "recipe" to do that... it really seems to make sense, and I've learned a lot about Linux!