I can speak only to the "Missing Manual" book. I not only have it, I have it in 3 different versions! I read whole chunks of the original, before moving from 9 to X nearly 3 years ago. Then I bought the second edition of that book, and also bought the Panther version. It's very, very useful and I highly recommend it.
One alternative -- go to your library. frequently, libraries will have computer books. You could check them out -- both on the spot and for a couple weeks.
And by the way -- welcome to the club!