This book assumes that its reader has a good deal of knowledge about using and installing Linux software. Before you begin building your LFS system, you should read the following HOWTOs:
Software-Building-HOWTO
This is a comprehensive guide to building and installing "generic" UNIX software distributions under Linux. This HOWTO is available at http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Software-Building-HOWTO.html.
The Linux Users' Guide
This guide covers the usage of assorted Linux software and is available at http://espc22.murdoch.edu.au/~stewart/guide/guide.html.