linux cookbook
I think the best kind of book not only teaches you about something but also help you create your own ideas using the new information. The Linux Cookbook is a perfect example of this.
This book covers everything from burning music to setting up your own email server to better ways to use remote access. Not only does it cover a huge variety of topics but each topic also has a wide range of options to go along with it. For example, the chapter on DNS doesn't just give you a quick up-and-running guide to BIND -- it also shows you how to use DJBDNS too. For software installs, it doesn't just cover RPMS but also tarballs and debian packages. This was a great thing to do as it not only shows readers about other options they might not have known about but also keeps to one of the most basic principals of Open Source which is to have a choice in what you work with.
Being one of the books in the Cookbook series, each section is set up like a recipe. The best thing about this book is how you can combine recipies together to make (besides corny humor) three-course meals. Take the recipe on how to set up SSH with keychain so you don't have to type in your password each time, mix in the recipe for rsync backups, blend in some bash, and you are good to go on a nightly remote backup script. For dessert, add in the recipe for creating your own ISOs to burn to CD.
This one gets a 10/10
