By Sam Williams, O'Reilly Media , March 2002

Interweaves biographical snapshots of GNU project founder Richard Stallman with the political, social and economic history of the free software movement. Looks at how the latest twists and turns in the software marketplace have done little to throw Stallman off his pedestal.

In 1984, Richard Stallman launched the GNU Project for the purpose of developing a complete UNIX-like operating system that would allow for free software use. What he developed was the GNU operating system.

This biography traces the evolution of Stallman's eccentric genius from gifted child to teen outcast to passionate crusader for free software. To Stallman, free software is morally vital, and for the past two decades he has devoted his life to eradicating proprietary source codes from the world. Savvy programmers revere Stallman; Bill Gates reviles him. Much of the fascination with Stallman lies in his messianic zeal, which Williams, a freelance writer specializing in high-tech culture, has attempted to capture here, drawing on a number of interviews with the unconventional Stallman, his associates, fans, and critics. The result is an esoteric and uneven work whose audience will likely be limited to the army of programmers drawn to Stallman's worthy cause.

Table of Contents:

Preface

Chapter 1: For Want of a Printer

Chapter 2: 2001: A Hacker's Odyssey

Chapter 3: A Portrait of the Hacker as a Young Man

Chapter 4: Impeach God

Chapter 5: Small Puddle of Freedom

Chapter 6: The Emacs Commune

Chapter 7: A Stark Moral Choice

Chapter 8: St. Ignucius

Chapter 9: The GNU General Public License

Chapter 10: GNU/Linux

Chapter 11: Open Source

Chapter 12: A Brief Journey Through Hacker Hell

Chapter 13: Continuing the Fight

Chapter 14: Epilogue: Crushing Loneliness

Appendix A: Terminology

Appendix B: Hack, Hackers, and Hacking

Appendix C: GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL)

 

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