Free as in Freedom interweaves biographical snapshots of GNU project founder Richard Stallman with the political, social and economic history of the free software movement. It examines Stallman's unique personality and how that personality has been at turns a driving force and a drawback in terms of the movement's overall success.
Free as in Freedom examines one man's 20-year attempt to codify and communicate the ethics of 1970s era "hacking" culture in such a way that later generations might easily share and build upon the knowledge of their computing forebears. The book documents Stallman's personal evolution from teenage misfit to prescient adult hacker to political leader and examines how that evolution has shaped the free software movement. Like Alan Greenspan in the financial sector, Richard Stallman has assumed the role of tribal elder within the hacking community, a community that bills itself as anarchic and averse to central leadership or authority. How did this paradox come about? Free as in Freedom provides an answer. It also looks at how the latest twists and turns in the software marketplace have diminished Stallman's leadership role in some areas while augmenting it in others.
Finally, Free as in Freedom examines both Stallman and the free software movement from historical viewpoint. Will future generations see Stallman as a genius or crackpot? The answer to that question depends partly on which side of the free software debate the reader currently stands and partly upon the reader's own outlook for the future. 100 years from now, when terms such as "computer," "operating system" and perhaps even "software" itself seem hopelessly quaint, will Richard Stallman's particular vision of freedom still resonate, or will it have taken its place alongside other utopian concepts on the 'ash-heap of history?'
Free as in Freedom examines one man's 20-year attempt to codify and communicate the ethics of 1970s era "hacking" culture in such a way that later generations might easily share and build upon the knowledge of their computing forebears. The book documents Stallman's personal evolution from teenage misfit to prescient adult hacker to political leader and examines how that evolution has shaped the free software movement. Like Alan Greenspan in the financial sector, Richard Stallman has assumed the role of tribal elder within the hacking community, a community that bills itself as anarchic and averse to central leadership or authority. How did this paradox come about? Free as in Freedom provides an answer. It also looks at how the latest twists and turns in the software marketplace have diminished Stallman's leadership role in some areas while augmenting it in others.
Finally, Free as in Freedom examines both Stallman and the free software movement from historical viewpoint. Will future generations see Stallman as a genius or crackpot? The answer to that question depends partly on which side of the free software debate the reader currently stands and partly upon the reader's own outlook for the future. 100 years from now, when terms such as "computer," "operating system" and perhaps even "software" itself seem hopelessly quaint, will Richard Stallman's particular vision of freedom still resonate, or will it have taken its place alongside other utopian concepts on the 'ash-heap of history?'
"`Free as in Freedom' ist ein hervoragendes Portrait von Richard Stallman, dem Begründer des GNU Projektes. Dieses Buch beschreibt wenn (auch nicht immer liniear) hervoragend den Werdegang von Stallman als Verfechter freier Software. Episoden aus seinem Leben und auch die Sichtweise seiner Mitstreiter zeigen das Bild eines nicht immer bequemen Hackers im Kampf gegen proprietäre Software. Wessen English Kentnisse Teilsätze wie `discouraging loiterers and solicitors a like' nicht vordern findet ein hervoragendes Buch, was mit 225 Seiten (inklusive Appendix und Index) gut in zwei bis drei Tagen, oder wie der Autor meint in ein paar Stunden, gelesen werden kann. Grosses Lob an O'Reilly dieses Buch unter der GFDL zu veröffentlichen.Fazit: Ein sehr gutes Buch für jeden, der sich für die Entstehung von GNU interessiert. Ausserdem liefert es ganz nebenbei eine Menge guter Argumente für Open-Source." - www1.moewa-lug.de, 09/2004, Volker Kuehn