Mac OS X Books for the Beginner or Advanced User

Mac OS X Books can be a real gold mine of information. I have always loved reading computer books. There is nothing like sitting down with a Mac computer, a coffee, and a good computer book.

In our digital world a book doesn't need to be on paper, it can easily be an ebook browsed on your Mac, iPhone, or iPad.

This page will highlight the best Mac OS X books available on any medium, paper or digital. The page is divided into three sections, where the books are grouped as listed below;

• Books about OS X Lion
• Books about Mac OS X Snow Leopard
• Books about general Mac topics covering any version of Mac OS X

Either click on the appropriate section to jump to that section, or if you prefer simply scroll down the page browsing each title.

Books about OS X Lion

Our first range of Mac OS X books are newly published, and cover OS X Lion, the new Apple operating system released in July 2011. Any new operating system has new and updated features so it is always nice to have a reference that covers the changes.

Macworlds Total Lion Superguide

If you take a look at the Macworld's website you can see why they are regarded as one of the most informative Mac related websites on the Internet today. Their team of Mac experts ensure that they keep upto date with everything that happens in the world of the Mac.

Having such a knowledge team means that they can put together in-depth articles, guides and books about the many products and software applications for the Mac. These publications are available in both paper and digital form.

In the Total Lion Superguide, the Macworld team, take the beginner through the process of installing OS X Lion on their Mac.

The book even delves into non-standard installations, like upgrading from Mac OS X Leopard for example.

Once you have OS X Lion up and running on your Mac, the book moves on to cover the new features such as full screen Apps, Launchpad and Mission Control.

Macworlds Total Lion Superguide is a very well written book. It is ideal for the beginner wanting to upgrade to OS X Lion and is available from Apples iBookstore for reading on an iPhone or ipad.

Mac OS X Lion Bible

The Mac OS X Bible range of books have been around from the early days of Mac OS X, including the Puma (version 10.1) release.

Since those early days these books have gained a loyal following of Mac users, probably because of the quality of the information they provide.

The secret to the Mac OS X Lion Bible is that it provides detailed information that is relevant to both the Mac beginner, as well as the more advanced user.

These books take you by the hand on a journey to becoming an advanced user.

For many users this could be the only Mac OS X book they ever need. The list below captures some of the chapter titles, and gives a glimpse of the wide range of information packed between the covers.

• Part I: Getting Started with Mac OS X 10.7 Lion
• Part II: Using Applications and Documents
• Part III: Working with Mac OS X's Applications
• Part IV: Using the Internet and Collaboration Services
• Part V: Setting Up and Using Networks
• Part VI: Securing Your Mac and Your Users
• Part VII: Configuring Mac Preferences and Services

I think you can see from the list above that the available information is very impressive.

Mac OS X Lion for Dummies

I suspect almost everyone will have heard of the 'Dummies' range of books, aimed at providing the beginner to a subject with a clear and concise introduction. They are very popular and now include over 1800 titles on almost any subject.

The 'Mac OS X Lion for Dummies' is the latest version of a Dummies guide for Mac OS X, and covers the latest version of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion.

The list below shows the different sections in the book. I think from the headings it is obvious that this book is not intended to be an intense read.

• Part I: Introducing OS X Lion: The Basics
• Part II: Lion Taming (Or "Organization for Smart People")
• Part III: Do Unto Lion: Getting Things Done
• Part IV: Making This Lion Your Very Own
• Part V: The Care and Feeding of Your Lion
• Part VI: The Part of Tens

Books about Mac OS X Snow Leopard

Our second section of Mac OS X books are aimed at Mac OS X Snow Leopard. It may have just been superceded but it will be quite a while before the whole world moves across to Lion. In the mean time Mac users will still want books covering Snow Leopard.

Mac OS X Snow Leopard Bible

The Mac OS X Snow Leopard Bible another release of one of the most popular Mac OS X books in the world.

These books are renowned for providing both the beginner and the more advanced Mac user with detailed information on getting the best from their Macs. This is one of those Mac OS X books that sits on the side of your desk and gets picked up instantly you have a problem or a query.

Below is a summary of the different parts of the book. With 840 pages it is a very comprehensive guide;

• Part I: Getting Started with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
• Part II: Networking and Internet
• Part III: At Work with Mac OS X
• Part IV: Maintaining Your Mac with Mac OS X
• Part V: Beyond the Basics

Mac OS X Snow Leopard for Dummies

The Dummies range of books have been going now for 20 years - amazing! They are part of our everyday lives with guides available on any subject. This one covers the Mac OS X Snow Leopard operating system from Apple.

At the beginning of this book the author, Bob LeVitus, captures the level that this book is pitched at by saying that this book tells you all about Snow Leopard without being boring or over complicated.

The humour is captured by the headings used in the book;

• Part I: Introducing Mac OS X Snow Leopard: The Basics
• Part II: Snow Leopard Taming (Or "Organization for Smart People")
• Part III: Do Unto Snow Leopard: Getting Things Done
• Part IV: Making This Snow Leopard Your Very Own

Mac OS X Support Essentials v10.6

So far we have looked at Mac OS X books for the beginner and the advanced user, that take you through the general tasks of using your Mac.

These books tend to do the job without necessarily taking the reader to far into the depths of the operating system.

But what if you want to delve deep inside? What if you are aiming to become an Apple Certified Support Professional, or just want that level of knowledge?

The Apple Training Series of Mac OS X books are self-paced learning books that follow the official Apple curriculum for their various certification programs.

The Mac OS X Support Essentials v10.6 book is part of this Apple Training Series.

So this books take you deep into the inner workings of the Mac OS X operating system. I use these books regularly and find them to be well written and very thorough.

Books about General Mac Topics

This section takes a look at Mac OS X books that are relevant to any version of Mac OS X. Books in this section are likely to concentrate on commands or even have a bias towards a particular piece of software.

Mac OS X UNIX Toolbox

Explore a ton of powerful Mac OS X UNIX commands.

This handy, compact guide teaches you to use Mac OS X UNIX systems as the experts do: from the command line. Try out more than 1,000 commands to find and get software, monitor system health and security, and access network resources. Apply the skills you learn from this book to troubleshoot networks, lock down security, and uncover almost anything you care to know about your Mac OS X system.

Expand your Mac OS X UNIX expertise in these and other areas:

• Using the shell
• Finding online software
• Working with files
• Playing with music and images
• Administering file systems
• Backing up data
• Checking and managing running processes
• Accessing network resources
• Handling remote system administration
• Locking down security