boot process in Linux

a guided tour from the Master Boot Record to the first user-space application.

“whether you’re booting a standard x86 desktop or a deeply embedded PowerPC® target, much of the flow is surprisingly similar. This article explores the Linux boot process from the initial bootstrap to the start of the first user-space application. Along the way, you’ll learn about various other boot-related topics such as the boot loaders, kernel decompression, the initial RAM disk, and other elements of Linux boot.”

Tim Jones from IBM developerworks explains boot process in Linux.
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-linuxboot/