A.P. Lawrence

Linux Server Hacks

• Rob Flickenger
• O'Reilly
• 0596004613

Order (or just read more about) Linux Server Hacks  from Amazon.com

I wasn't as enamored of this as were some other reviewers. I wasn't completely unhappy, I don't have any real dislike or serious complaints, but I wouldn't give it the near 5 star rating that Amazon has for it. Maybe 4 stars. It's "good", just not "great".

On the other hand, I did enjoy this. Just a few pages in I found myself smiling and saying "this guy thinks like I do". But although there is superficial organization, this is basically just a random collection of tips and recipes clobbered together as a book.

It's also, despite being published in 2003, a little out of date. For example, some tips talk about LILO, but nothing mentions GRUB, which is what you are far more likely to find right now. And then there was that obligatory "hdparm" tip, which always seems to pop up in Linux books, but is most likely useless on a more modern install: you probably can't improve over the defaults.

You might find some useful tip in here, especially if you are just starting to use Linux. More experienced people can probably put the money to better use elsewhere.