The author takes a patient approach to his subject, explaining key configuration files one line at a time and walking through important procedures, such as setting up a dial-up connection to the Internet. He's also remarkably liberal with troubleshooting ideas, frequently pausing to present lists of what might have gone wrong as a result of a recently explained procedures and suggesting solutions to each. He's also careful to explain aspects of the Unix universe (such as mounting devices and running a windowing system atop a kernel) that might be unfamiliar to people accustomed to more mainstream operating systems. Like any good Linux user, McCarty is quick to share his favorite utilities and explain how to use them. --David Wall
Topics covered: Installing Debian Linux and the GNU suite, installing and using the X windowing system, performing critical administration and management tasks (in graphical programs and via the bash shell), setting up a local area network (LAN), setting up the Apache Web server, and using the Debian package-management utilities.