Docker Deep Dive

by Nigel Poulton

This is the ultimate book for learning Docker, brought to you by Docker Captain and leading educator in the container ecosystem Nigel Poulton. Docker Deep Dive is a masterpiece, expertly written, and rated by BookAuthority as "the number 1 all-time best book on Docker". As featured on CNN and Forbes, BookAuthority identifies and rates the best books in the world, based on public mentions, recommendations, ratings and sentiment. In this book, Docker is simplified and brought to life via Nigel’s unique and energetic approach -- many of its readers hold it up as the *gold standard* for technology books.- If you want to learn the basics of Docker, this book is for you.- If you want to be a pro with Docker, this book is for you. Docker Deep Dive is updated regularly, meaning you get a book that's applicable in the world today! Key features Extensive coverage of Docker architecture- Deep dive into core concepts such as images and containers- Networking, volumes, and security- Docker Certified Associate (DCA) coverage Nigel is passionate about teaching Docker and this is reflected in this book. You’ll never get tired reading this book, and you’ll finish it with the confidence you need to take on Docker in the real world.

Genres: Technology, Programming, Computer Science, Technical, Software, Nonfiction, Computers

249 pages, Paperback

First published July 12, 2017

Reviews

[Tim O'Hearn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Docker Deep Dive (v4) is a fun and useful introduction to Docker. Learning by Google searches and Stack Overflow will lead to bad habits, misunderstandings, and gaps in knowledge. This book covers everything that the newbie needs to know while also providing a few explanations beneficial to those who are more experienced. There are lightning-fast TLDR sections for each chapter, but the book can be read in its entirety while following along with every example in just a few hours.

Nigel’s writing is clear and engaging. His efforts to keep the book up-to-date are commendable and his command of the subject matter is superb. Even if you have no plans to use Docker, reading Deep Dive will enable you to speak intelligently on the topic. Ironically, for how simple Docker is to use, I found that the book frequently provided real cases for the usefulness of expanding one’s Linux, sysadmin, and VM knowledge. For as much as Docker (and the author) abstracts, I still think these are vital points of understanding. Though I suppose there will be a generation of developers that comes up while scarcely knowing what a VM is (and I beckon this future).

This is a worthwhile book and I respect the author for releasing a print version. His advice is that the value of the book will diminish greatly as time elapses and Docker is developed with increasing velocity. I urge you to pick it up now, even if just to validate that you know as much about Docker as you think you do. You might be surprised.

Find this review and others on my blog

[Alexander · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest I would title this book "Introduction to Docker".

While it covers ops part of Docker, it only briefly touches topics of Dev: building apps with Docker and applying containers approach to existing apps.

Also there is to much of... author in this book. Too many smileys, jokes here and there. TLDR blocks are useless. It is like a series of blog posts, not a book.

I think I understand now the difference between O'Reilly published books and "self published" Amazon books.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Docker Deep Dive by Nigel Poulton is one of the more popular books on teaching users about creating and managing Docker containers. I’ve been mystified by container technology for a while now but I just couldn’t find the time to jump in. But with the technology landscape changing so fast, not staying even partially up to date will seriously leave you and the company you work for at a serious disadvantage. Like many administrators, we all know what virtual machines are. However, are containers considered the same? If not, then how are they different and how will they help us? What makes containers different, for better or worst, when compared to the virtual machines we all know and love today? Does it even make sense to learn Docker and container technology or is it just a fad and will eventually go out of favor once the hype settles down? The author does go into some of these questions briefly but if you’re reading this book, chances are you’re like me and have already made the decision to learn this cool technology. There are many other places on the Internet you can visit to dig more deeply into those questions. This book will actually teach you how to use Docker from a beginner’s point of view.

I have to admit though that prior to reading Docker Deep Dive, I’ve already completed half of my video Docker course at Udemy. When learning new technologies, I like to watch a video course while also reading a book on the subject and preferably from different authors and creators. This allows me to pick the brains from different people on the subject matter and so to get a different perspective on things. This book will get you up and running with Dockers immediately and with minimal fuss. All you need is a computer with an active internet connection and you can be learning and using Dockers! Best thing is that Docker is cross platform so it will work almost seamlessly across both Mac/Linux and Windows. The author goes through the commands you’ll use line by line to better help you understand what each one of them will do. Once you get the hang of it, you should then be able to glance at the command and visual what will happen in the background without any help.

A lot of the major topic gets covered here. In fact, the author claims at the time of the writing that his book is the only one that covers every exam topic in the Docker Certified Associate exam. Due to how Dockers utilizes layers, it makes sense to start things at the bottom and working upwards and this is exactly what the author does with his book as well. He starts off with explaining single engine mode to creating simple containers and then moving on to more higher level concepts that builds on top of the lower layer like swarm mode, services and then to stacks and finally how to package all that into making Docker work in production environments with Docker Enterprise Edition and the tools that go with it. Each chapter is broken down into three sections with the first being the TLDR section where he’ll explain very briefly on the subject from 10,000 foot high. He’ll then go into the deep dive and that’s where things pick up and you do all the learning. The last section is spent on going over the various commands that was used in the chapter. Because maintaining Docker is mainly done through the command line interface, taking the time to go over each command at the end of the chapter helps to cement them in your mind.

While the book doesn’t aim to turn you into a Docker professional by the end of it, it will give you a solid foundation into how Docker works and how to use it in your every day administration of Docker containers. I did wish that the author would have included more real world examples of Docker in action. Also, I’m sure users would find this out on their own but the author should have thrown in references from docs.docker.com as this is one of the premier site officially from Dockers themselves to learn the inner workings of the Docker commands. It also would have been great if the author could dish out pointers and side notes of Docker being used in real world enterprise environments from all the years of experience he has with it. It’s easy to see the passion the author has for Docker and container technology though. It’s always great to read from authors who are actually excited about the things they are writing and teaching about and not treat it as just a technical reference.

If you are just starting your journey into Docker and containers like I am, I strongly recommend this book! It’s easy to understand and you’ll have a lot of fun with Dockers!

[Ruslan Diachenko · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the May 2025 edition. It's a good refresher if your Docker knowledge has gotten rusty. I wouldn't call it a deep dive as the title suggests, it's more of a solid overview of the main Docker concepts. Some chapters vary in depth: the networking sections go into more detail, while the chapter on WebAssembly feels quite shallow.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to understand all things Docker

I highly recommend this to anyone wanting to know about Docker in general or do a deep dive if you wish read til the end. Nigel has done a great job of breaking some of the complex terminology in easy to comprehend diagrams and analogies. So glad I decided to give this book a try!

[Mehmet Davut · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was already know and use the Docker everyday programming and I can't say I learned so much new things from the book. However, I liked the book so much because it shows very practical information which fills the gaps on my Docker knowledge. There were so many, "oh now I understood it better" moments while reading the book.

While I reading the book I realized that this book would be better to split two different books; the first one Docker for development and the second Docker for production. Because, I just skipped Docker Swarm and Docker Stack parts which was very confusing. I think the practical usage is good for the development tools part but server-side informations needs more explanation instead of pretending the reader knows something.

[Mr D LAVER · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid, plain and simple masterclass on Docker.

I have 30 years IT experience but none of containers or Docker. So I searched on my Pluralsight account, found Nigel and loved his videos. They patiently explained key concepts and showed me how to get on my feet in this strange new world, but I like to read and recap in my own time and pace. So I bought this book and did just that without any regret. Nice one Nigel!

[Héctor Iván Patricio Moreno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Si de verdad quieres aprender Docker a profundidad, tienes que leer este libro. Supongo que se complementa con el curso en video, pero el puro libro es un excelente herramienta para entender cómo funciona y aprender a usarlo.

El autor aplica una muy buena técnica de enseñanza: te dice lo que te va a enseñar, te lo enseña y te recuerda lo que te enseñó.

[Vỹ Hồng · Rating 4 out of 5]

As many reviews have mentioned, this book is not much of a deep dive but more of an introduction to Docker containers. If you want to learn about Docker in a structured way and understand the technologies that make Docker possible, I'd recommend this book.

The book is up-to-date until February 2018 (5th edition).

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t attest to whether it’s a “deep dive” but I read it in the morning and was up and running in the afternoon, so it’s an excellent introduction at any rate. The book structure is extremely clear, and it moves at pace. Good stuff.

[Babak · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was excellent, and I learned a lot from it. It really deepens your knowledge of Docker. In my opinion, if the section discussing Linux security topics were more comprehensive, it would be absolutely perfect

[Elie De Brauwer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, unlike other docker book if often goes a bit underneath the surface also covering for example swarm, container trusts and networking in all flavors. It's still quite dense and some topics could be touched a bit deeper.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't be mislead with a book title - it's a simple translation (and brief) of official docs. Not worth time you'll spent reading it.

[Soheil Karami · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was a good book, I'd recommended for beginner

[Amirali · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected more depth from a book with the words “deep dive” in the title

[Mahdi Shadi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book explains the contents related to Docker completely and in simple language and the contents are not confused and one can easily learn the contents.

[Ventsislav Potchekanski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect intro to Docker

This book provides great overview of what Docker is, from both Dev and Ops perspective.
It also looks under the hood with enough technical details to help you grasp how things work.
It’s packed with examples that are easy to follow on your laptop, as well as in your (virtual?) lab.
The book is well structured and easy to follow.
Great for devs and enterprise IT.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book title I read was "Docker Deep Dive". I was a little disappointed because it did not feel like a deep dive. The level of detail on the volumes and networking chapters/sections were not as in depth as I would have liked. There are so many details left unmentioned. The book is a nice introduction but I would not call it a deep dive at all.

[melinda sue haflich · Rating 5 out of 5]

The docker book

This book is the docker book to read. I thought it was awesoke from front to back. If you want to truly.understand docker and what you could do with it get this book!

[Aliaksiej Maroz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book to dive into aspects of Docker (like values and networking). Well described working examples. I skimmed the chapters related to Swarm, since it is not relevant to me now. It's still better to have a Linux machine or at least WSL to fully work with deployment examples.

[Ajitabh Pandey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice start and introduction from a SysAdmin perspective. If you do not know about Docker, this is a good book to start, even for non-sysadmins.

[Marcial Lalanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Docker accesible

Nivel Poulton hace ameno el aprendizaje de Docker, tanto en su libro como en los cursos de Pluralsight. Muy accesible.

[Gerardo Santoveña · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book

I really enjoyed reading this book as it really explains Docker in a simple way, even the hard topics. The examples are very useful.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very beefy subject but the author does a great job of making it accessible to non sysadmins, like me.

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nigel kills it as always!

[Сергей Польшин · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

Good view. And some basics steps. So good book to start.
But better to skip pulling images text. It's just to add more text to book?

[Daniel A Eggert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great first dive!

Nigel gives you enough detail to be conversational with your colleagues and start using Docker. He achieves exactly what he set out to do...

[Scot Haynes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive explanation of Docker

Great overview of how to use Docker. Everything from the basics to some really technical configurations. Would recommend to anyone new to Docker.

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

+ Gives an overview of the Docker ecosystem and its CLI interface.
-- The writing is not great. A relatively high number of typos, inconsistencies in the text, and too many smiley faces (🙂) for a book.

[TuanhAnh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointed. The book is not as deep as I expected. The book is suitable for beginners, not the one who experience docker.