![Free as in Freedom [Paperback]: Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software](http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328834208m/658332.jpg "Free as in Freedom [Paperback]: Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software")
Free as in Freedom interweaves biographical snapshots of GNU project founder Richard Stallman with the political, social and economic history of th...
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Feb 23, 2011
Alex
rated it: 
I’ve just finished reading Free as in Freedom a biography of Richard Stallman the founder of the free software movement. The title takes it’s name from the oft repeated statement used to highlight that software freedom is not about the price rather what you can do with it.
The book itself is relatively short and is easy to read. It combines historical sections describing Stallman’s intellectual journey with alternating chapters describing experiences Sam Williams had while interviewing More...
The book itself is relatively short and is easy to read. It combines historical sections describing Stallman’s intellectual journey with alternating chapters describing experiences Sam Williams had while interviewing More...
Jan 01, 2011
Ken
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This book is about Richard M. Stallman and the extremely principled fight for "free software" that he has been waging for over two decades. The author gives personal narrative of his interviews with and exposure to this controversial individual as he lays out the history of the free software movement, Stallman's dream for a GNU operating system, the partial preemption of that dream by GNU/Linux, and the huge success of the GNU General Public License (GPL).
I thoroughly apprec More...
I thoroughly apprec More...
Oct 07, 2011
Ashutosh
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Just Finished Free As In Freedom by Sam Williams (http://oreilly.com/openbook/freedom/). I read the print edition but I just realized that there was an online edition also available. This book chronicles Stallman's journey, his ideology & him as a person with all his idiosyncrasies. Before typing gcc foo.c -o foo one should read the book only to find out how GCC is a gift of a singularly brilliant Stallman. Without him we would not even have GNU/Linux which we so treasure these days. The book is
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Aug 24, 2010
Paul
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After a few local discussion about the merits of BSD vs GPL, listening to the Moglen v. O'Reilly (2007) match, and out of wanting to read something on my N97's ebook reader (ZXReader), I read through Sam Williams' Free as in Freedom.
An interesting biography of Richard Stallman. The bulk of the book covers RMS's childhood through the pre-history and inception of the FSF. There are numerous stories which cover the full spectrum of his personality, as well as his ethical beliefs. The l More...
An interesting biography of Richard Stallman. The bulk of the book covers RMS's childhood through the pre-history and inception of the FSF. There are numerous stories which cover the full spectrum of his personality, as well as his ethical beliefs. The l More...
Oct 25, 2011
Christopher
rated it: 
FREE AS IN FREEDOM is Sam Williams' biography of legendary software developer and political thinker Richard Stallman. Founder of the GNU project, Stallman is little-known outside of a relatively small world of computing cognoscenti, but without him Linux and many other modern computing innovations would hardly be possible. In an interesting twist, the publisher O'Reilly has released this book under the GNU Free Documentation License, meaning that the book may be freely copied and sold.
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Mar 19, 2011
Saurabh
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I learnt a lot from this book. Any one even remotely related to the computer field must read this book. The message this book gives is important even from an end user perspective. The message I liked the most is that we shouldn't have reinvent the wheel just because the one who did it before us got it patented. It really pays to not be selfish in some case.
Jul 25, 2010
Benjamin
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This was a fascinating biography of one of the keystones of modern computing and the free software movement. Richard M. Stallman really is a notable character for his supreme honesty and frankness as much as for his volatility in groups and extreme stubbornness, and Williams' book really brought that across. I feel as though I know Stallman a little more, and I now deeply appreciate the incredible impact he has had on the tools I use every day and the philosophy he has relentlessly pursued for d
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Oct 25, 2011
Jon
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This one was mostly just informative. Not in a bad way, though. It showed a side of Richard Stallman that I've never seen before and I think that was a good thing. If all you have to go by is what he put up on his site, and what you may have read on wikipedia.org, then this book will show you a bit more of the kind of person he is. If you don't know who Richard Stallman is, what the Free Software Foundation is, what the GPL is, or what GNU/Linux is, and you don't really care then don't bothe
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Apr 28, 2009
Morgan
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Another good book on how folks considered social misfits are contributing to the advancement of both technology and civil liberties. I don't think Stallman is a person I would like to know personally, but I appreciate the work he has done with the GPL and GNU Emacs.
Apr 23, 2010
Stu
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It says so much about society in general, Stallman truly is the prophet of our generation, and foresaw all the legal issues in IP that beset us today. He answered with his heart, what is right for the community at large.
Feb 12, 2012
John
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Fascinating. Insights into the life and mind of a true technology leader and visionary. A fantastic read.
Aug 12, 2008
D
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Richard Stallman, founder of GNU/The Free Software Foundation, gets labeled as a bit of kook, and that's not entirely off base. This book relates some of the formative events that lead to RMS's becoming a hard line proponent of what really amounts to: Put things in public domain (so to speak) for the ultimate betterment of society. The guy still gets a lot of mockery even within parts of the hacker community, but given what he and GNU have done for us, we all owe him a great debt.
Oct 25, 2011
Dani
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Fairly interesting read that goes beyond the software world to reflect more on social values and the current trends on how our society treats knowledge and access to it.
Also the portrait of a quite unique person that draws as much attraction and respect as laughter and repulse. I was already quite an admirer of Stallman, after this book I can only reaffirm myself. If rms didn't exist, we'd have to invent it.
Also the portrait of a quite unique person that draws as much attraction and respect as laughter and repulse. I was already quite an admirer of Stallman, after this book I can only reaffirm myself. If rms didn't exist, we'd have to invent it.
Dec 16, 2009
B
rated it:
I started reading this book online ([http://www.oreilly.com/openbook/freedom/]) And finished it with a library copy. It's a decent biography of the fascinating Free Software pioneer Richard Stallman, though it's last few chapters are weaker than it's opening chapters. Overall a good read, though not groundbreaking.
Aug 31, 2008
Ryan
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Just read this...in the matter of an afternoon, though it was a printed copy of the freely distributed e-book format. Very engaging, even for someone who only has a passing interest in computing or hacking culture. I recommend it very highly to anyone.
Oct 25, 2011
Aija
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Good book to get know the history and origins of free as in freedom software and Stallman's character. However, smth of the author's pathos annoyed me.
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