Hadoop Books
These books are listed in order of publication, most recent first. The Apache Software Foundation does not endorse any specific book. The links to Amazon are affiliated with the specific author. That said, we also encourage you to support your local bookshops, by buying the book from any local outlet, especially independent ones.
Books in Print
Here are the books that are currently in print, along with the Hadoop version they were written against. One problem anyone writing a book will encounter is that Hadoop is a very fast-moving target, and that things can change fast. Usually this is for the better, when a book says "Hadoop can't" they really mean "the version of Hadoop we worked with couldn't", and that the situation may have improved since then. If you have any query about Hadoop, don't be afraid to ask on the relevant user mailing lists.
Hadoop in Action
Name: Hadoop in Action
Author: Chuck Lam
Hadoop Version: 0.19-0.20
Publisher: Manning
Date of Publishing: December, 2010
Sample Chapter: Chapter 1
Hadoop in Action introduces the subject and teaches you how to write programs in the MapReduce style. It starts with a few easy examples and then moves quickly to show Hadoop use in more complex data analysis tasks. Included are best practices and design patterns of MapReduce programming.
Hadoop: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition
Name: Hadoop: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition
Author: Tom White
Hadoop Version: 0.20-0.21
Publisher: O'Reilly
Date of Publishing: September 2010
Pro Hadoop
Name: Pro Hadoop
Author: Jason Venner
Hadoop Version: 0.20
Publisher: Apress
Date of Publishing: June 22, 2009
Jason says "This book is a step by step guide to writing, running and debugging Map/Reduce jobs using Hadoop, and to installing and managing Hadoop Clusters. It is ideal for training new Map/Reduce users and Cluster administrators and for polishing existing Hadoop skills."
Hadoop: The Definitive Guide
Name: Hadoop: The Definitive Guide
Author: Tom White
Hadoop Version: 0.20
Publisher: O'Reilly
Date of Publishing: June 19, 2009
Forthcoming Books
Name: Hadoop in Practice
Author: Alex Holmes
Hadoop Version: 0.20
Publisher: Manning
Date of Publishing: Fall 2012. Early access program with PDFs of content available today.
Sample Chapter: Chapter 1