Glenn English: "The Debian System" is exactly the one I'd been looking for. It's an excellent discussion of sarge (3.1), and it's full of useful information: theory, philosophy, HOWTO, and why. [...] And the best thing about it is that when it's lying open by the keyboard, the book doesn't try to close itself -- the pages lie flat. [...] Kudos to the publisher! And you, too. This is a marvelous piece of work.