Friend or foe?
But of course the book is not all about Linus Torvalds. It is about the Linux operating system and, more important still, the issues surrounding it.For the story of Linux is the story of a collaborative effort (and true to its roots, the book is a collaboration, between Torvalds and Diamond). The concept of open source and the GNU Public License (GPL) which Torvalds adopted to ensure that bug fixes, patches and developments would continually flow back into the into the community, is examined, as is the increasingly vocal debate over intellectual property.
Torvalds has made his enemies along the way, and they are not confined to the most obvious quarters. If you are expecting a long diatribe against Microsoft, forget it. As Torvalds himself says, the Linux phenomenon is about something else entirely, "something far more wide-reaching."
No, most of Torvalds' enemies are to be found closer to home. For instance, the first to have his hackles raised by Torvalds was Minix operating system author Andrew Tanenbaum, who did not like the monolithic approach to the Linux kernel. Then there was Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software foundation and the GPL, who campaigned - and continues to do so - for Linux to be renamed GNU/Linux.
Not that Torvalds sees these people as enemies. Indeed, one of his overriding concerns seems to be that people take him too seriously. Hence the title.
However, Torvalds' intentions notwithstanding, this book is likely to inflame old arguments about microkernels vs. monolithic kernels, the concept of whether Linux should really be called GNU/Linux and the issue of open-source software vs. free software.
It will also help fuel the debate over intellectual property, to which Torvalds devotes the closing chapters. This is no bad thing; if Torvalds' book helps explain the issues surrounding open source and intellectual property to a wider audience, it will be a success.
There are some surprises, such as the names of some of the companies that offered Torvalds a job when Linux started making the headlines in 1997. Perhaps more surprising is that the man who manages a development effort involving thousands of programmers felt that he failed as a manager at Transmeta, the chip designer that he eventually decided to join.
The writing is pedestrian in style, but that is not important and should not deter anybody who is interested in the concept of Linux and free software in general. What is important is that the book is eminently readable. There are two reasons for this: First, the book is, as one might expect of such an accomplished programmer, perfectly structured; and second, the subject matter is fascinating.
There is only one problem that this reviewer sees with the book; unlike Torvalds' operating system, you have to pay for it.
