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Underneath the beautiful GUI of Mac OS X lies a Unix core. Why would you want to tackle all of this command line jargon when you can use the finder and simply and click and drag files? The answer lies in the power Unix gives you.

Interested in searching for a particular set of files and having those search results quickly sent to another application? Unix can do that for you. Basically, If you’re willing to change your thinking to fit the Unix mindset, you can get a lot done with a few keystrokes.

Unix Power Tools contains a wonderful collection of Unix tricks and tips. This is not your typical computer book. It’s not meant to be read from beginning to end. The authors of the book encourage their readers to jump around the various articles and explore what interests them the most.

I went on a Unix learning binge several months ago and out of all the Unix books I’ve read, this was one of the few books that actually made learning Unix fun. It is a thick book at over 1,000 pages but the individual articles are generally brief and packed with interesting and useful information.

For individuals who have limited Unix experience, I recommend reading Unix for Dummies first. I realize there are people who cringe whenever they see a “For Dummies” book but let me assure you that this is one of the better introductory Unix books.

Learning Unix can be a daunting task. But it doesn’t have to be hard if it’s taken in stages. The easy to access structure of Unix Power Tools should make learning some of the more obscure facets of Unix an easy process.

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