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I was hesitant to begin reading what seemed to be a large hardcover text-book. I was wrong, this is an excellent book. Although it can be used as a textbook it is also a great reference for the professional programmer. When I started programming in Unix I could never find a book that had all the information I needed. The real value of this book is that it consolidates a lot of Unix information into one book.

The book is organized into four sections that take you from fundamental to advanced topics. The authors assume the reader is a C programmer but do not require prior knowledge of Unix. Small programs are used to illustrate key concepts in each chapter. At the end of each section large projects utilize code and concepts that have been developed thus far.

This is a great book for someone who has just learned C and would like to begin writing more advanced code in Unix. I would place the book solidly between an entry-level C primer and advanced books like the Richard W. Stevens books on Unix programming. In one book you get the basic fundamentals, like how to compile a program in Unix, to advanced topics like networked programming.

The authors make concepts like buffer overflows interesting by relating them to sexier topics like Security. Very good explanations of thread-safe functions and static variables are required reading. I was pleasantly surprised that what looked at first like a textbook turned into a great summer read. Well worth the price.