Reddit reviews UNIX Shells by Example (4th Edition)

The approach I took is to start with commands and languages using regular expressions: find, grep, sed, awk, python or perl, etc. These are very powerful and useful commands.

Two books I highly recommend are [Unix Shells by Example] (http://www.amazon.com/UNIX-Shells-Example-4th-Edition/dp/013147572X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374157897&sr=8-1&keywords=unix+shells) and [A Practical Guide to Linux] (http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Guide-Commands-Editors-Programming/dp/013308504X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374157979&sr=1-1&keywords=practical+guide+to+linux)

Also check out (PDF warning!) [Advanced Bash Guide] (www.tldp.org/LDP/abs/abs-guide.pdf)

These all are excellent, and very useful.

I realize this has more than the OP was looking for (ie the other shells). but UNIX Shells By Example is by far my favourite book I've come across in terms of learning scripting, might want to check it out.

Just because textbooks and reference books can be dry doesn't mean they're not creative.

Here's another and another. O'Reilly published books have a couple clever or "funny" ones.

UNIX Shells by Example by Ellie Quigley. Reviews here.

If you're looking for a book I highly recommend Unix Shells by Example:

http://www.amazon.com/UNIX-Shells-Example-4th-Edition/dp/013147572X/ref=la_B001H9RV1E_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1346897356&sr=1-2

I like it because it's light on the banter and explanation that's so common with tech books, and heavy on the examples. It's had a permanent spot on my work bookshelf for the last 10 years

UNIX Shells by Example by Ellie Quigley is a great text to pick up shell scripting.