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Excellent No-Charge Linux Books – Learn About Linux – For Beginners
Linux Links ^ | 2/1/18 | Steve Emms

Posted on 02/01/2018 6:29:48 PM PST by markomalley

Do you want to learn about Linux? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Not sure what Linux is? To a purist, Linux refers to an open source kernel – the program at the heart of the operating system. But it’s easiest to think of Linux as a family of free and open source software operating systems built around that kernel. More importantly, it’s a genuine contender to the Windows family of operating systems, surpassing it in many areas.

Linux differs in so many ways to Windows. You might be well versed with Windows. But if you’re keen to explore and experiment with Linux, it’s worth investing some time with a good book about the subject. There are a huge range of books to learn about Linux. With many thousands of e-book and in-print books available, the choice can be baffling. And many paperback and hardback books are expensive. Step forward no-charge e-books designed for the beginner. Naturally, there are many other ways of learning about Linux, such as reading official documentation from the developers of Linux distributions, or from projects such as the respected Linux Documentation Project.

Many no-charge e-books are, frankly, little more than spam bait, often published only to entice you to purchase a book from the same publisher. Poorly written, and with very little original content. Whereas the recommended texts below are definitely worth downloading. They’ll teach you the basics about Linux and so much more. They’re the ideal starting point for your Linux adventures. And you don’t have to divulge any personal information to get your hands on them.

You’re missing out on so much goodness if you don’t learn about the command line. OK, that’s an opinion (which as lawyers often remind me is therefore neither right nor wrong). But it’s an opinion I strongly hold. I recommend everyone embrace the command line use and shell scripting. So indulge me with the inclusion of a few dedicated texts that expound some of the possibilities of the command line.

Some of the books below are somewhat dated, if only by their date of publication. For example, Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference covers Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron) and 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex), released way back in 2008. But that book is expertly written and the information is still extremely useful, relevant, and informative, with good coverage even for non-Debian based distributions.

Note: The title of this article deliberately refers to the following books as no-charge. They are free in the sense you can download them without charge. But some of them are not free in an open source context. For each book, we’ll spell out the license terms. Forewarned is forearmed. The defining characteristic of all the featured books is that they can be read without any payment, although I’m sure many of the authors would welcome a donation. Many users are attracted to Linux simply because it can be downloaded without charge, irrespective of the fact that the kernel (and a huge raft of software) is made available under an open source license.

No Charge Linux eBooks Author
Ultimate Linux Newbie Guide Alistair J. Ross
Ubuntu – An Absolute Beginner’s Guide Courtney Loo
Introduction to Linux - A Hands on Guide Machtelt Garrels
Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference Keir Thomas
The Easiest Linux Guide You’ll Ever Read Scott Morris
Learn Linux in 5 Days Jason Cannon / Linux Training Academy
Linux Starter Pack Future Publishing
Test Driving Linux: From Windows to Linux in 60 Seconds David Brickner; Published by O'Reilly
Getting Started with Ubuntu 16.04 The Ubuntu Manual Team
The Debian Administrator's Handbook Raphaël Hertzog, Roland Mas
LINUX: Rute User’s Tutorial and Exposition Paul Sheer
Linux in a Windows World Roderick W. Smith
The Linux Command Line William D. Shotts, Jnr
Put Yourself in Command Free Software Foundation
Just Enough Linux Malcolm Maclean

One (or more) of your favourite introductory general-purpose Linux books might not be listed above? This isn’t an exhaustive selection, but one that focuses on texts that are proven exceptionally useful. Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Any good recommendations will naturally be added to the article. This article does not cover books that focus on a specific Linux software application.


TOPICS: Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS: linux
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1 posted on 02/01/2018 6:29:48 PM PST by markomalley
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To: markomalley

ping


2 posted on 02/01/2018 6:32:21 PM PST by woweeitsme
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To: markomalley

none of the links seem to work


3 posted on 02/01/2018 6:32:21 PM PST by softwarecreator
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To: markomalley

bump to study


4 posted on 02/01/2018 6:33:27 PM PST by The_Republic_Of_Maine (RINO politicians beware your time is coming ... SOON)
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To: markomalley

“The Linux Command Line” by William Shotts is excellent.


5 posted on 02/01/2018 6:34:02 PM PST by kevao (Biblical Jesus: Give your money to the poor. Socialist Jesus: Give your neighbor's money to the poor)
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To: markomalley

Load up Linux Mint and VirtualBox (to run Windows/linux/Apple/Android/BeOS-Haiku/etc. O/Ss.

There can be some issues, but the Web has plenty of info.

Some hardware issues, but older hardware seems to be well supported


6 posted on 02/01/2018 6:35:26 PM PST by Paladin2
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To: markomalley

Bookmark


7 posted on 02/01/2018 6:37:26 PM PST by Basket_of_Deplorables (SEDITION! Obama DOJ colluded to try overthrow the President!)
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bookmark


8 posted on 02/01/2018 6:38:47 PM PST by freds6girlies (many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first. Mt. 19:30. R.I.P. G & J)
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To: softwarecreator

Go to the article’s source link. They are relative links, they work fine there.


9 posted on 02/01/2018 6:38:54 PM PST by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: woweeitsme; softwarecreator; The_Republic_Of_Maine; kevao; Paladin2; Basket_of_Deplorables; ...
My apologies. Didn't notice that the table was using relative links rather than absolute links. Please see (and use) the table with absolute links:
No Charge Linux eBooks Author
Ultimate Linux Newbie Guide Alistair J. Ross
Ubuntu – An Absolute Beginner’s Guide Courtney Loo
Introduction to Linux - A Hands on Guide Machtelt Garrels
Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference Keir Thomas
The Easiest Linux Guide You’ll Ever Read Scott Morris
Learn Linux in 5 Days Jason Cannon / Linux Training Academy
Linux Starter Pack Future Publishing
Test Driving Linux: From Windows to Linux in 60 Seconds David Brickner; Published by O'Reilly
Getting Started with Ubuntu 16.04 The Ubuntu Manual Team
The Debian Administrator's Handbook Raphaël Hertzog, Roland Mas
LINUX: Rute User’s Tutorial and Exposition Paul Sheer
Linux in a Windows World Roderick W. Smith
The Linux Command Line William D. Shotts, Jnr
Put Yourself in Command Free Software Foundation
Just Enough Linux Malcolm Maclean


10 posted on 02/01/2018 6:40:30 PM PST by markomalley (Nothing emboldens the wicked so greatly as the lack of courage on the part of the good -- Leo XIII)
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To: markomalley

Bookmarked.


11 posted on 02/01/2018 6:41:29 PM PST by wally_bert (I didn't get where I am today by selling ice cream tasting of bookends, pumice stone & West Germany)
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To: markomalley
I think I may still have the book for my Yggdrasil distribution I got back around 92.

I started using Unix at work about 1990.

12 posted on 02/01/2018 6:47:58 PM PST by Elderberry
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To: markomalley

bookmark


13 posted on 02/01/2018 6:58:42 PM PST by servantboy777
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To: Elderberry

I kept some SCO/Caldera books and disks while All Hat, No Cattle Darl McBride was suing IBM/et. al. and GrokLaw was functional.

That was fun to follow...


14 posted on 02/01/2018 7:00:37 PM PST by Paladin2
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To: markomalley

Thanks for posting this list. It’s very helpful to me.
I run Mint 18.3 Sylvia on my laptop and love it.


15 posted on 02/01/2018 7:04:41 PM PST by lgjhn23 (It's easy to be liberal when you're dumber than a box of rocks.)
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To: markomalley

Bookmark


16 posted on 02/01/2018 7:10:44 PM PST by JDoutrider
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To: markomalley

Thanks!


17 posted on 02/01/2018 7:13:22 PM PST by CommieCutter ("Trump is god emperor and he will win." -- some hacker)
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To: markomalley

I will be taking my CompTIA Linux+ test (103) this weekend.


18 posted on 02/01/2018 7:15:37 PM PST by taxcontrol (SStupid should hurt)
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To: nnn0jeh; kalee

Ping


19 posted on 02/01/2018 7:17:26 PM PST by kalee
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To: markomalley

Ping


20 posted on 02/01/2018 7:20:52 PM PST by Java4Jay (The evils of government are directly proportional to the tolerance of the people.)
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