"My rule is, if I can't share it with you,
I won't take it." -- Richard Stallman
Note
- If the thrust of this quote is not clear to you,
likely it will be when you read this book.
Recommendation
A very good book. This book delivers what it promises. If you want to experience the story of "Richard Stallman's crusade for free software", get this book. If you are interested in the open source movement, likely you'll want to read this book. It's interesting, challenging and easy to follow.
three websites of special interest
Note
- The three sites above and many others
are referenced in this book.
"Another unstated assumption is that the only important thing about software is what jobs it allows you to do--that we computer users should not care what kind of society we are allowed to have." -- Richard Stallman
Note:
- This quote is taken from the essay
The GNU Project by Richard Stallman
which I read on the GNU Project website,
which is referenced by this book. - The essay was originally published
in the book "Open Sources". - If the thrust of this quote is not clear to you,
likely it will be when you read this book.
Note:
- Published by O'Reilly.
Contents
What's free software?
Before I read this book I didn't have a clue what was meant by "free software". Here's the basic idea as I understand it. "free" in the context of "free software" means that you don't have to ask and you don't have to pay to do certain things concerning the program. The certain things are:
- running the program
- accessing the source code of the program
- improving the program
- redistributing the program
This definition should be adequate for the purpose of this review. For a more complete definition of free software, see The Free Software Definition.
Today you are more likely to hear the term "open source" which has a very similar meaning to "free software", but a very different connotation. For a definition of open source, see The Open Source Definition.
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Who's Richard Stallman?
Richard Stallman is credited with
- founding the GNU project
- writing the GNU EMACS editor and many other GNU components
- being the architect of the free software movement and its sole driving force for many years
and much more.
"GNU" is a recursive acronym standing for "GNU's not UNIX". The GNU project started in 1984 with the intention of developing a complete Unix-like operating system which would be free software. Among other things the GNU project has created a shell, a suite of compilers (plus relevant tools and libraries), an editor and many other tools that are widely used in Unix-like systems.
GNU EMACS is a highly regarded editor used widely in Unix-like environments.
In this book, Richard Stallman is characterized by various people at various times as:
- uncompromising, a perfectionist, a micromanager
- blunt, stubborn, controversial
- shrewd, innovative, charismatic, a hacker genius, a political genius
- crushingly lonely, a social outcast
- consistent, intense
- soothing, a saint
- logical, a clear thinker, a clear designer
His story is a fascinating one, which I will not try to tell here. Hey, RTFB, that is, "read the book". You might also want to check out Richard Stallman's personal website.
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About the Reviewer
I am a long time user of Perl and UNIX. I am also an advocate of free software, which until reading this book I always referred to as open source software.
I have a lot of O'Reilly books and am very pleased with them.
My main aim in reading this book was to learn what Richard Stallman's contribution was to open source. I knew that he was important but didn't know any of the specifics.
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Who's this Book for?
If you are interested in understanding the importance of Richard Stallman to free software and open source, get this book. If you want to get a sense for what he's like as an individual too, get this book. If you want to experience the story of "Richard Stallman's crusade for free software", get this book; the book does indeed deliver what the subtitle promises.
If you want the book to be entertaining as well, I suggest looking elsewhere. I found this book interesting, satisfying, even moving and compelling, but not entertaining.
I experienced the first three chapters as choppy and tedious. If I hadn't been big time interested in the subject, I would likely have bailed out early. I'm glad I didn't. By the end of the book I was captivated and eager for more. I believe the author has crafted his style to be congruent with a difficult person whose very existence is a moral challenge for most of us. If you don't want to experience that challenge, this book is not for you.
Oh, if you've read this far, this book may well be for you.
© Copyright George Woolley 2003
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