Rating: 

This is a very good bash quick reference in the O'Reilly Short Cuts Series. The O'Reilly Short Cuts Series consists of PDFs which: a)focus on a specific topic [In this case, bash.]; (b) are short, usually less than 100 pages [In this case, 72 pages.]; (c) are easy to use [I found it so.].

What did I expect from this PDF quick reference?

The shell I use (almost exclusively) is bash. I've been using it for a bit more than 4 years.

I expected by reading this quick reference through I'd get a good review of bash. I hoped in the process I'd learn a few things about bash.

I also hoped I'd think it was worth keeping this PDF around as a quick reference to bash.

Did I get what I expected?

Yes!

I did get a good review of bash. And I did learn several things.

I do plan on keeping the PDF around as a quick reference to bash. I'll use the quick reference
for the few times I write a bash script (I usually use Perl for scripts I write for my Linux system.) and for questions that come up during my extensive use of bash interactively.

What did I especially like?

I especially liked: (a) the cover page which includes two paragraphs on the intent of the PDF and the table of contents; (b) the clear division into sections; (c) the section on Variables.

I like the whole idea of the Short Cuts Series. I especially like that Short Cuts are (duh) short.

What did I not like?

There were a few things I didn't like,
for example: (a) I wasn't clear on the difference between the history file and the history list; (b) there is no index.

I also ran into a few "clerical errors". E.g. "The Bourne shell is still be found in ...". I don't generally care about such errors unless they confuse me, and none of the errors I noticed confused me. However, some people care more about such errors than I do.

Who is this Short Cut right for?

This Short Cut would be good for someone who uses (or will be using) bash and wants a quick reference to bash. As mentioned earlier, I found it useful for reviewing bash.

This quick reference would not be good for someone who can be characterized by any of the following: (a) isn't using (or going to be using) bash; (b) really is looking for a reference to utilities that you can run from bash on the operating system they are running on; (c) is convinced they know bash so well they don't need a quick reference; (d) doesn't know bash at all and really wants a tutorial.