linux

First off, I'd like to give some background on myself. I'm a Linux hobbyist. For fun, I have a Linux server in my house that serves files, ssh, vnc, user authentication, web pages, and ftp files. Books I own on the subject are: "Linux NFS and Automounter Administration", "Red Hat 7 for Dummies", "Using Samba", "Linux Administration: a Beginner's Guide", "Managing NFS and NIS", and this one (my most recent purchase).

Of the "general purpose" books, I'd say that "Linux Administration" is probably the best of the bunch, but "Complete" isn't bad either. Unfortunately, this book contains a lot of fluff. Each chapter usually starts with the history of whatever it's about. Next, it spends a few pages on giving a rough overview the different applications pertaining to the chapter's subject. Half way through the chapter, it finally gets into the actual implementation. Whether or not these pages are useful is very hit-and-miss.

If you want a general purpose book, I'd strongly suggest you get Linux Administration: a Beginner's Guide by Steven Graham and Steve Shah. If you are interested in a certain topic (samba, apache, etc.), I'd suggest you get a book solely on that, and stay away from this book as it doesn't provide satisfactory depth.