[vigormortis]

Evi Nemeth was Godmother to a couple generations of Unix Sysadmins. The UNIX and Linux System Administration Handbook is practical, usefully opinionated, playful, and brilliant, much like its lead author/editor. I've used it as the core text for classes I have taught and it's a great interview study guide for systems folk.

If you really want a trip down memory lane, dig up some earlier editions and learn how to deal with the quirks of the SGI, DEC, SUN, IBM, & HP menagerie.

I'd definitely start with this one.