Fun Science with your Computer by Christophe Cornu.

This book explains how to solve interesting (and progressively more complex) problems, using Java to work through the examples, building up from basic principles in Chapter 1 to implementing a chess program by the end of the book. It's not quite as polished as a professionally-edited book (you can tell his native tongue is French, although he writes in very good English), but it's a better self-study aid than any book I've seen from a mainstream publisher.

(Full disclosure: I used to work with Christophe at a previous job).

Linux spreads mainly on word-of-mouth advertising, and network-based cooperation. I suspect that Linux will take off in India when (hopefully not "if") network connections there become cheaper.

IIRC, bandwidth in India costs about an order of magnitude more than the same connection to the 'net would cost in the USA. Salaries for skilled computer geeks are perhaps 5 to 10 times lower. Thus, a comparable network connection will cost the geek maybe 50 to 100 times more in real terms.