Here’s a list of best Ubuntu books for beginners to learn and master the Ubuntu Linux operating system. The list contains both free and non-free books.

Since always, Linux has been Geek’s play zone. But with Ubuntu’s arrival in the world of Linux Desktop has been changed. It has revolutionized the computing world by simplifying Linux and truly has lived up to its motto “Linux for human beings”.

As the popularity of Ubuntu increases, more and more new users are willing to give a try to this awesome operating system. Since a number of these users are beginners with Linux and have close to zero experience with command line, it is very important to provide them with enough support to lean in Linux world.

Attention! This is a very old article and many of the books listed here are outdated now.

Huge online resource

Ubuntu has a vast collection of documentation that details each and everything. Ubuntu also has a dedicated website for tutorials.

Its official forum and Ask Ubuntu give users a very comforting place to ask their relatively (ahem) small and big problems. Apart from that there are several (hundreds or may be thousands) blogs to solve the problem one faces with Ubuntu. Of course, It’s FOSS is one of them.

But despite of all that, one might need a book for Ubuntu for several reasons. First, a book provides a view from ground, explaining every aspects in detail. Second, one may not be online all the time to access the resource. A book comes handy for offline usage. In this post we’ll see some Free Ubuntu books for beginners.

1. Ubuntu Manual

Ubuntu Manual is the official book from Ubuntu for a quick understanding of Ubuntu and basic tutorials and on how to install and use it. Each time Ubuntu releases a new version of its OS, it also releases its corresponding manual which is free to download. Link to download Ubuntu Manual.

2. Little Orange Ubuntu Book

This is a newcomer in Ubuntu book’s section. It focuses mainly on Ubuntu 12.10. It provides some insight about what is Ubuntu, the installation guide, how to install software and use Unity Hud. The book is available for $0 (or option up to $5). A nice Ubuntu book for beginners. This book can be downloaded from Leanpub.

3. ‘Make Use Of’ Ubuntu Absolute Beginner’s Guide:

Make Use Of has come up with their own Ubuntu manual that is available for free when you subscribe to their newsletter or when you share the page on social media. It provides a great deal of information to help beginner get along with Ubuntu. It also puts great emphasis on Unity interface. You can download the Ubuntu Absolute Beginner’s Guide from this page.

4. Muktware’s Ubuntu Manual [Free Kindle Edition]:

Popular Linux magazine, Muktware has published its own Ubuntu manual for beginners and it is available for free download for Kindle users. Apart from illustrating Ubuntu installation, it also explains the terminal basics, includes instruction to run home media server and also covers Windows application installation.

5. Unity Customization Guide:

As Ubuntu has successfully endorsed Unity as the default desktop environment, this Unity Customization Guide provides a great deal of tutorials on customizing the looks of your Ubuntu Unity desktop. You can download the guide from this link.

6. Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference:

Wait! Did not the title read 5 free Ubuntu books for beginners?

Well, this is kind of bonus or may be not! Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference has ruled the Ubuntu world for a long time. It is the most comprehensive Ubuntu manual ever. And the best thing is that it is available for a free download. But the reason why I almost excluded it from the list is that guide has not been updated after Ubuntu 8.10. Which means it is more or less outdated and useless in today’s context.

Do check this article about free courses to learn Linux online.

I may have missed some other free books here. Feel free to suggest other names in the comment section and I’ll update the article. Cheers :)