Maximum Linux Security

I have really mixed feelings about this book.

In the first place, security is, by its nature, a constantly moving target. You can't expect any book to really cover security well, because everything changes all the time. So in that respect, any attempt like this is going to have shortcomings.

On the other hand, I do like the concentration on Linux. It's very useful to be specific, and I don't mean that only in the case where you want to protect a Linux machine. Having specific examples to point to when explaining concepts helps make those concepts more understandable even when you intend to apply them elsewhere.

This author also wrote a more general security book which I haven't read but that attracted some antagonism for being superficial. I'd have to say that this is somewhat superficial too; for example, while tcpd, ipfwadm and ipchains are all mentioned, none are really covered in sufficient detail. On the other hand, just about everything that should be mentioned is mentioned and explained sufficiently so that you should know enough about it to decide if it is something you need to explore more deeply.