8 Best AWS Books in 2023 - Josip Miskovic

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the most popular cloud platform.

In Q4 2022, AWS had a 34% market share for cloud infrastructure, while Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud had 21% and 11% respectively, per Synergy Group.

With so many services available, where to start?

Which services to choose? How to use them effectively?

To help you get started, here are the best AWS books available in 2023:

1. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Study Guide with Online Labs : Foundational (CLF-C01) Exam

Best for non-technical roles

1. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Study Guide with Online Labs Book Cover

This study guide is the best resource for non-technical roles with no prior IT or cloud experience.

The AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Study Guide: Exam CLF-C01 provides a comprehensive introduction to the AWS cloud platform and its architecture.

It includes technical, security and compliance content as well as an in-depth look at different value propositions for using AWS services.

Additionally, it contains key terms glossary, chapter review questions and electronic flashcards for exam preparation. The bundle also includes access to XtremeLabs Virtual Labs from your browser with 8 unique lab modules. Labs are great for on-hands learning. They offer a real-world experience working with the AWS Cloud Platform.

Authors: Ben Piper, David Clinton

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Understand fundamental principles of deploying and operating in the AWS Cloud Platform
Understand basic security and compliance aspects of cloud computing
Become familiar with sources of technical assistance, such as white papers or support tickets
Summarize the key services AWS can provide along with their common use cases
Grasp billing, account management, and pricing models for using AWS

2. Security and Microservice Architecture on AWS

Best for microservices development on AWS

Gaurav Raje's book 'Security and Microservice Architecture on AWS' provides practical advice for building secure cloud systems without increasing overhead.

Using the AWS Shared Responsibility Model, you will learn how to create a modular architecture using microservices. Modular architecture can scale independently and comply with various regulations in finance, medicine, and legal services.

You'll also learn how to add safety features from AWS to protect your system from malicious actors.

This book is an essential guide for anyone looking to increase system security without compromising development efforts.

Authors: Gaurav Raje

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Understand the AWS Shared Responsibility Model for cloud security
Develop a modular architecture using microservices that can simplify compliance with regulations in finance, medicine, and legal services
Introduce various AWS-based security controls to protect microservices from malicious actors
Leverage the architecture's modularity to independently scale security mechanisms on individual microservices
Improve the system’s security posture without compromising software development teams' autonomy or efficiency.
Explore practical examples and real-world scenarios for deploying and managing microservices securely on AWS.
Get best practices for securely integrating third-party services into your architecture.
Use automated security tools such as CloudFormation to improve the security of your AWS environment.

3. Learning Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Learning Amazon Web Services (AWS) is for IT professionals looking to start using AWS.

Expert trainer Mark Wilkins provides comprehensive best practices that follow Amazon's Well-Architected Framework. Wilkins explains how core AWS services work, how to use them together, and offers tips on achieving maximum flexibility, security, and value in your designs.

The book includes access to several hours of online training videos which will guide you step-by-step through setting up essential services.

Authors: Mark Wilkins

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Understand the key concepts of AWS and how they align with Amazon’s Well-Architected Framework
Apply best practices for deploying and managing core AWS services such as compute, storage, networking, scale, security and automation
Balance cost with compliance and latency in service designs
Choose the right networking options for a virtual private cloud (VPC)
Build, host launch manage, and budget for EC2 compute services
Plan for scale & resiliency & make informed decisions regarding AWS storage
Enforce strict security & automate to improve operational efficiency
Utilize companion online videos to guide you step-by-step through setting up core services & preparing yourself to deploy your own apps & resources on AWS

4. AWS Cookbook : Recipes for Success on AWS

This AWS Cookbook is a practical guide that provides over 70 self-contained recipes to help you creatively solve common challenges encountered when building on AWS.

Authors John Culkin and Mike Zazon share real-world examples and diagrams with accompanying code so you can create custom AWS solutions.

With this AWS book, you will be going through how to redact PII data from text, automate password rotation for databases, verify and troubleshoot network paths, lock down S3 buckets, analyze IAM policies, autoscale containerized services.

Authors: John Culkin, Mike Zazon

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Use Amazon Comprehend to redact personal identifiable information from text
Automate password rotation for Amazon RDS databases
Use VPC Reachability Analyzer to verify and troubleshoot network paths
Secure Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) buckets
Analyze AWS Identity and Access Management policies
Implement autoscaling for a containerized service

5. Amazon Web Services in Action

Amazon Web Services in Action, Second Edition is a comprehensive guide for developers and DevOps engineers looking to deploy applications on AWS.

This book covers topics such as virtual machines, security and scalability, storage options from S3 to EFS, relational databases with RDS, caching with ElastiCache, NoSQL databases with DynamoDB, auto-scaling and CloudWatch monitoring services. The revised edition provides an updated look at the latest additions to AWS including serverless infrastructure with Lambda and data sharing capabilities.

The book is full of code samples, best practices and clear explanations. it helps developers get the most out of their cloud infrastructure.

Want to learn more about cloud computing? Check out my list of best cloud computing books.

Grab your copy today to learn how to design for high availability, auto-scale workloads, and automate your infrastructure!

Authors: Michael Wittig, Andreas Wittig

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Learn the basics of Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Use virtual machines, command lines, SDKs, and CloudFormation for deployment
Secure your system using IAM, security groups and VPC
Discover options for storing data in the cloud such as S3, Glacier and EFS
Get an introduction to relational databases with RDS
Explore ElastiCache and DynamoDB through programming exercises
Develop fault tolerant architectures with availability zones & auto scaling
Utilize Elastic Load Balancing & Simple Queue Service
Master techniques for scaling up or down with auto scaling & CloudWatch

6. AWS Certified Solutions Architect Offical Study Guide : Associate Exam

6. AWS Certified Solutions Architect Offical Study Guide Book Cover

The AWS Certified Solutions Architect Official Study Guide is a comprehensive guide for those looking to become an AWS Certified Solutions Architect.

It offers valuable information on the exam format, questions and topics covered. The book includes hundreds of practice questions with detailed explanations.

Authors: Joe Baron, Hisham Baz, Tim Bixler, Biff Gaut, Kevin E. Kelly, Sean Senior, John Stamper

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Understand the fundamentals of cloud computing
Explore AWS core services and features
Identify best practices for designing and deploying applications on AWS
Create and manage Amazon EC2 instances with Auto Scaling groups
Gain insights into Container Services, Serverless Computing, DevOps tools, Networking, Storage options available on AWS
Leverage Security Groups, Access Control Lists (ACLs) to secure your resources in the cloud.
Get to know AWS Cost Optimization strategies and tools.
Monitor and troubleshoot problems in AWS environments.

7. AWS Security Cookbook : Practical solutions for managing security policies, monitoring, auditing, and compliance with AWS

Whether you’re looking to reduce risk or increase efficiency within your organization’s cloud environment, make sure to check out the AWS Security Cookbook.

This Amazon Web Services book is for IT security professionals, cloud security architects, and cloud application developers who are working on security-related roles and are interested in using AWS infrastructure for secure application deployments.

If you're looking to achieve AWS certification, you'll also find this book useful. To get the most out of this book, you need prior knowledge of AWS and cloud computing.

Authors: Heartin Kanikathottu

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Use IAM and S3 policies for secure infrastructure
Understand cloud security models such as the CIA and AAA triads
Configure firewalls, load balancers, and Cognito for authentication
Leverage AWS Managed Services such as CloudWatch, CloudTrail, Config, GuardDuty, and Macie
Prepare for the AWS Certified Security Specialty exam
Monitor compliance with machine learning
Integrate additional security services like Glacier Vault Lock and Security Hub
Secure EC2 instances and applications with symmetric/asymmetric encryption
Implement user pools and identity pools for federated login
Adhere to cloud security best practices for added protection.

8. Serverless Architectures on AWS, Second Edition

Best AWS book for Serverless Development

Serverless Architectures on AWS, Second Edition offers an in-depth look at how to design and implement serverless architectures using Lambda and other services on the AWS platform.

This book will help you manage cost, automate time-consuming operations tasks, and scale services on demand.

The book is full of real-world case studies which show successful applications of serverless architecture. It also covers innovative design patterns and principles that are applicable when making essential technical decisions.

Authors: Peter Sbarski, Yan Cui, Ajay Nair

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Understand the principles of serverless design
Explore real-world case studies where companies used serverless architectures for their products
Master the technical essentials of serverless designs
Balance tradeoffs and make essential technical decisions
Create features that automatically start and scale on demand, reduce hosting cost, and simplify maintenance
Design serverless systems using Lambda and other services on the AWS platform
Discover how others have used serverless designs successfully
Explore event driven computing
Develop an understanding of innovative serverless design patterns and architectures
Gain insights from several large-scale serverless systems

About Josip

Josip Miskovic is a software developer at Americaneagle.com. Josip has 10+ years in experience in developing web applications, mobile apps, and games.

Follow @JosipMisko

1. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Study Guide with Online Labs : Foundational (CLF-C01) Exam

Best for non-technical roles

Topics covered

2. Security and Microservice Architecture on AWS

Best for microservices development on AWS

Topics covered

3. Learning Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Topics covered

4. AWS Cookbook : Recipes for Success on AWS

Topics covered

5. Amazon Web Services in Action

Topics covered

6. AWS Certified Solutions Architect Offical Study Guide : Associate Exam

Topics covered

7. AWS Security Cookbook : Practical solutions for managing security policies, monitoring, auditing, and compliance with AWS

Topics covered

8. Serverless Architectures on AWS, Second Edition

Best AWS book for Serverless Development

Topics covered

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