KDE is the 'K desktop environment' for Linux, named in the usual recursive style. Introduced in 1998 it offers a GUI for the popular operating system; this book covers up to version 1.2 although version 2 has recently been released.

The author assumes the reader is happy to install and run Linux and then explains how KDE is supplied with the various Linux distributions or how it can be downloaded from the Internet. This covers not only the core distribution but also a wide range of applications, all in a readable style with plenty of screen dumps.

He then moves onto more advanced topics such as KLyX (for producing TeX documents), accessing the Internet, tools for the sysadmin, use in the enterprise, upgrading and programming. There is a useful chapter on the tricky subject of installation on a laptop. He also discusses the commercially available applications.

It is good to see the book was written using StarOffice 5.0 or 5.1 running on KDE.

There is more information on this title athttp://www.mcp.com/que/and more about KDE athttp://www.kde.org/. Recommended.