As far as books go, I'd recommend O'Reilly's "Unix Power Tools" (http://safari.oreilly.com/0596003307). It's not linux specific, but if your're interested in getting familiar with command-line *nix tools, it's a solid bet. For getting started with linux, you can't really go wrong with any of the modern crop of live cds. At any rate, it's always handy to have a Knoppix CD lying around if/when you screw something up. sm