There are many different distros of Linux. A couple of the ways that the many intended for the PC distinguish themselves is by different libraries of software available for them with different installation management systems and somewhat different install processes. Pretty much all normal hard disk installs follow the same basic steps, but you sound like you are very concerned by the details. In that case you really need to pick one or more distros and focus on finding books or information for them; a generic "Linux for people who are not Windows dummies" book isn't likely to cover all install options for all distros.

I already responded with a quick summary of how to install Debian to your other post. The response included a link to the Debian website. If you look at the main page of the website you will find a lot of helpful links, including a link to the Installation Manual page. It's not clear what more information you could want. if you do have more question you could ask them, either here or, better yet, in the forum for the distro that you choose.

My advice is rather than continuing to ask this; try installing a distro or two. You'll learn a lot more by doing than by reading books; refer to the reference information as you have questions. If you are ready to install at all, you will not hurt anything this way; you can always delete the Linux partitions and install again. Heck, I've deliberately installed the same distro on the same hardware several times, just for the experience and to try different options.