Good Resources
The Linux Command Line – free pdf book
Get previously entered commands
Use the up and down cursor keys.
Issuing multiple commands in a single line
If subsequent commands should only occur if the previous command succeeded use "&&":
sudo ifdown eth0 && sudo ifup eth0
If subsequent commands should occur regardless of whether the previous command succeeded use ";" :
sudo ifdown eth0 ; sudo ifup eth0
Issuing Commands In The Background
To issue a command and exit immediately you can simply add a space followed by a '&' character at the end of the line. If the command has responses that come later they will still be output to the console (you'll see them) but you will be free to use the console for other tasks commands.
If you want to issue multiple commands simple surround the ';' seperated commands in brackets and follow with a '&', e.g.: (sleep 2 ; sudo /sbin/reboot ) &
Getting error and normal responses
Simply add " 2>&1" to the end of your command string and you will then get the output of stdout and stderr