How Linux Works: What Every Superuser Should Know

In my work, I need to use Linux once in a while. For quite some time, I've searched for an introduction to Linux that would give me a solid overview of the system without bogging me down in detail. Of all the books that I've looked at or read, this is the best, if now somewhat dated, introduction to Linux I've found. Blair Ward takes you straight into the mechanics of how Linux works. Note that this is a different approach than the books that promise to teach you how to learn to use Linux by showing you how to play music and movies. "How Linux Works" moves you into the essential commands of Linux, explains what they do and, where appropriate, some of the options available to you. Not the "some" in the last sentence. A small failing on Ward/s part is his not explaining all the options available for a command. His logic is readily apparent: he didn't want to bog the reader down with stuff they might never use in a lifetime. On the other hand, I am interested specifically in a handful of commands and not all the options are listed and explained for some of these, which is a disappointment. I guess that is what my well thumbed copy of "Linux In A Nutshell" is for - and which I constantly complain about having too much detail. Sometimes, you just can't win. The real coolness about "How Linux Works" is that Ward provides enough detail to familiarize the novice user with how to get around in Linux, how to use the important tools without overloading anyone. In a matter of minutes with this book, much of my ignorance and confusion and Linux was dispelled. It was a great feeling. The book, published in 2004, is becoming a bit dated. For the most part, the newer things that aren't covered are no loss for me and are covered in other publications - and the essentials of Linux are unchanged. A lot of material, as I mentioned, is simply not here. For example, there is no mention of working with the NTFS file system which was well-established in 2004, though not on Linux per se. Overall, this book is great and fills my need for an intro that gives me the basics of about how Linux live and breathes while it is doing its thing. Nice piece of work.Jerry

This book was perfect for me. I use GNU/Linux at home and work, and I wanted to learn more about a wide range of topics (bootup, networking, kernel, etc.). For each section, "How Linux Works" gives a concise explanation of how things work, and covers a few commands and command-line options.Brian Ward does a great job of choosing what to exclude, to keep the book technically useful but still readable. It's a very efficient way to move from beginner toward intermediate-level understanding.I will use this book as a starting point for experimenting and learning more about GNU/Linux. I can get much more from man pages now that I know more commands, for example.The title is a bit misleading. It covers much more than the Linux kernel, and would more aptly be named "How GNU/Linux Works." I also disagree that it's "what every superuser should know" - the discussion is aimed at intermediate-level users.

I was misled by the many glowing reviews into buying this book. This book is n't really about how linux works. Its more like a reference or manual - with very barebones descriptions followed by instruction. It doesn't go into depth at all about the 'how' or the 'why' as the title claims. In fact its just a regurgitation of the standard linux docs and HOWTOs (some of which were written by this author), the only advantage being that here you have them collected here between a spine. But their are websites that do this for you and do it for free to boot. The intermediate and advanced lessons at Linux.org/lessons cover everything in this book and much more in a better organized fashion. I would go there instead of buying this book.

As a Linux user, How Linux Works is, I think, a "nice to have" technical book but certainly not an essential one.I began using Ubuntu Linux just less than one year ago as my primary operating system. In addition to myriad online resources, I have about nine different Linux books stacked up near my desk.However, only some of those books remain at or near the top of the pile. That is to say that one year later, a few of the books I've bought remain useful but most of them don't.How Linux Works went to the bottom of the pile very quickly after I bought it and has remained there pretty much continuously since then. In fact, I only recently pulled it out of the stack to see if, now that I know a bit more about Linux, there might be anything interesting or useful to me. There wasn't.So my take is that How Linux Works isn't a bad book, but it's one of the demonstrably least useful books I've ever owned...

This book explains a lot about how Linux works together. A sum of all Linux parts. It has chapters on scripting and the kernel development. I bought this book to learn how the kernel works. I am sure there are other books out there that explain in much more detail about the kernel but this book is well written and works for me.

This is a good read for those who already know or have been using Linux / GNU for a while, as a refresher, but it frequently lacks the detail, depth and specificity for a fuller grasp of concepts or procedures that makes one a "super-user." Mostly it reads like an overview aimed at giving its audience an impression of the Linux system, but frequently such overviews require some existing knowledge of Linux to grasp. If you'll pardon the clichés, it's neither fish nor foul while it requires the reader to be both chicken and egg.

I have started to migrate all of my home computers to Linux. And I needed a good book to teach me some of the basics. This book was it. It was very helpful in giving me some useful information on the inner workings of Linux. It takes time and practice to learn the commands and how the Linux core system operates, and its a good start.

This books provides a superb introduction to the inner workings of Linux. Covering all the main areas: introductory shell scripting, devices and filesystems, Linux boot procedure, network services, plus others. It also provides a good revision of some basic computing principles. I would recommend this books for any novice or intermediate user.