This is a wonderful introduction and tutorial meant to make readers comfortable and productive in the command line. It is not about system administration, Bash scripts, or any other tool, although they are all mentioned and covered at some length. It is about what users need to know to live and work in the command line. This is the sort of book I would have loved to have as a Unix user before there were graphical user interfaces (GUIs).

The second version of this book includes numerous improvements, refinements, and clarifications based on user feedback. Based on Bash version 4.x, it covers some important features now available. It is a rather long book, containing 36 chapters grouped into four parts. Despite its size, the book is written like a friendly tutorial, made up of small, easy-to-digest chunks of information. It is meant to be read sequentially from beginning to end.

Each topic is introduced in the context of the discussion, but not covered exhaustively in a single place. The book is a tutorial and not a reference text. It revisits topics again and again, with additional information and details appropriate to the current discussion. So, for example, it mentions the ls command, a foundational command used to list the contents of a directory, in at least five different places. In this respect, the index is extensive, accurate, and very useful.

The writing is exceptionally clear. The tone is gentle but never ponderous, patronizing, or condescending. The author respects his readers’ intellect and desire to learn. He gives readers the information they need in the very best way he can. Obviously, I enjoyed this book immensely, and I recommend it without reservation.

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