8 Best Books to Learn and Master Linux [For All Levels]

I’ve written about free linux books in the past. that article has a nice collection of linux books that are freely available.

The saying goes that the best things in life are free. that might not be entirely true when it comes to books. there are many excellent linux books that you may have to buy, but they are worth it.

You are reading: Linux operating system books

I am going to list some of my favorite linux books that I own and have read to improve my understanding of various linux related topics. some of them are generic while others cover specific areas of linux systems.

I have mentioned which book covers which topic to help you decide if you should get the book or not.

Amazon links in the article are affiliate links. Of course, you can get it directly from the publisher’s website, your local bookstore (support local businesses), or your favorite online bookstore.

recommended books to improve your knowledge of linux

how linux works

This is what I recommend if you want to learn and understand the core workings of linux. how linux works is the perfect book if you are absolutely new or if you want to improve your knowledge of linux.

The book is written in simple, easy-to-understand language. It starts by giving you the basic idea about linux, kernel, shell, etc. and then goes on to explain the file system, hierarchy, etc. After covering the basics, the book delves into basic Linux knowledge on how the Linux kernel starts, how user space starts, system registry, etc.

The book also discusses resource utilization and network configuration before briefly touching on shell scripting.

you can free download chapter 4 of the book on disks and file systems. read and see if the book is a good fit or not.

linux bible

this is perhaps the most comprehensive book on linux covering a wide variety of topics. With over 800 pages, you get everything from learning the basics of the Linux command line to advanced system administration topics.

Each chapter of the book ends with exercises to use the newly learned knowledge in a given scenario. answers are included at the end of the book.

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Whether you are preparing to become a system administrator, preparing for a Linux certification exam, or simply want to improve your knowledge of Linux, the Linux Bible will prove to be an essential resource.

learn linux quickly

i received this book as a gift from its author ahmed alkabary. if you remember, ahmed used to give his “linux command line basics” course for free to his foss readers until udemy changed his policies on the coupon code.

unlike how linux works, this does not explain how linux works. jump directly to the linux command line.

The book reads like a collection of blog posts, and in a good way. you will find the chapters and topics covered in “how to” style with many command examples, explanation of results and necessary schematic diagrams.

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Each chapter ends with a knowledge check section where you are given a simple set of exercises to complete along with a set of true/false questions. this is a good way to test your newly acquired knowledge. answers are included at the end of the book.

The language of the book is conversational and easy to follow. if your goal is to learn linux commands, this is a good book to have on your desk.

linux for developers

linux for developers is a small book with less than 200 pages. the book is intended for software developers, not linux kernel developers.

If you’re a software developer using Windows as your primary workstation, this book is for you. In most organizations, developers use Windows for their development tools, but when it comes to deployment, the infrastructure exists on Linux machines.

As a software developer, you may not want to waste a lot of time wondering how to configure networking, mount disks, etc. It’s not that it’s not a good thing to know, it’s just not essential to your core coding work.

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linux for developers gives you an overview of the linux command line and shows only the absolutely essential linux commands required by regular developers. learn about the file system, path navigation, understanding file permissions, essential commands for listing content, viewing files, finding text in files, etc.

This book also discusses how to use common terminal-based editors like vim before moving on to tell you about software packaging (if you need to package your software on linux).

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There are also sections on various scripting languages. thus, you get the basics of bash, perl, and python scripting. The book ends with a few chapters on using git, managing files with git, and understanding file differences with git.

Having worked as a software developer, I identify with the author’s idea of ​​providing only the essentials for most software developers. this allows developers to concentrate on their programming while knowing enough of the linux command line to get the job done.

linux pocket guide

as the name suggests, the linux pocket guide is a small pocket book for quick reference to linux commands and how they work.

doesn’t teach you how linux works in detail. it is simply a collection of linux commands. the commands are grouped into various sections, such as commands for viewing files, browsing directories, user management, networking, etc.

There are short and quick examples of the commands along with their syntax and brief description.

the linux pocket guide also has an alphabetical index at the end of the book. this way you can quickly see which command is mentioned on which page.

Consider it a great linux cheat sheet and an alternative to man pages. having it on your desktop is handy and saves you from searching the internet for command examples all the time.

hardening linux on hostile networks

books on advanced topics like linux security are usually written in complicated technical language suitable for experienced system administrators. this book is slightly different. From a non-technical manager to experienced devops/secops and ctos, this book is a great read for all experience levels.

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Each chapter of this book has three sections. The first section provides a high-level overview of the topic of security and easy-to-implement best practices that almost anyone can understand and follow.

the second section, then take it to the next level with intermediate to advanced hardening steps for system administrators. Even if you don’t follow all of them step by step, you can still read it to get a better idea about the topic.

The third section deals with advanced hardening tips that are complicated and time consuming.

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starts by covering the general concept of security, securing workstations and hardening linux servers and networks. it then goes on to discuss hardening essential (and often vulnerable) services like web servers, email, dns, and databases.

The book ends with a chapter on incident response. this gives you some practical advice on what to do when your server is compromised. how to investigate what happened, what the attackers did, how they did it, and what to do to prevent such incidents in the future.

remember, this is not really a cookbook. in fact, I used it as bedtime reading rather than a DIY manual.

author kyle rankin right says that today’s advanced threats tend to make their way into tomorrow’s script kiddie toolkits. it’s important to have a security mindset and this book gives you a good perspective on that.

unix and linux system administration manual

This book requires that you have a good grasp of linux and knowledge of the linux command line. in fact, it’s more suitable for you if you’re already working as a system administrator.

With over 1000 pages, this book covers advanced topics suitable for experienced system administrators. from basic linux system administration topics to devops oriented topics, this book has it all.

highly recommended for experienced system administrators.

linux firewall

another advanced linux book on this list. no prize for guessing that this book is about linux firewalls.

As a system administrator or network engineer, if you want to protect your network or test for vulnerabilities, this is a good book to learn the core concept of firewalls.

what linux books do you recommend?

I have not included excellent books like the linux command line in this list. It’s not that it’s not a good book, it’s because it’s freely available and I’ve mentioned it in the list of free linux ebooks.

There are numerous linux books available. I certainly have not read all of them and will not be able to read them all. I may have missed one of your favorite books.

why don’t you share your favorite linux book in the comments section? I’ll add a reader recommendation section based on your feedback.

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