Dated as any ten year old book about computing is going to be, I still highly recommend this exploration of the Operating System. A great deal of the history of Microsoft and Apple has now become myth, but Stephenson breaks it down nicely as what it really is--two corporations trying to make money. His metaphors--and the idea of the operating system as a metaphor--displayed the deft mastery of writing that one expects from him as an author. His broad knowledge of computing explained how he became such an excellent science fiction writer. And of course, his pithy little quips are worthy of any Linux programmer.

This book is well worth a read for anyone, because I'm assuming if you're here on a web page, you've experienced an operating system at some point.