Free as in Freedom – Sam Williams

Posted on April 19, 2020April 19, 2020 by stu73

Really enjoyed this. A great book that goes into detail on Richard’s early life and how this shaped his views and his beliefs that would go on to instigate the Free Software movement.

It’s fascinating to read about the birth of EMACS, the trials and tribulations of the HURD Kernel and the evolution of the GNU set of programs, but one of the most interesting aspects of the book is how the other main players and events in the free software/open source story interact with Richard and his views and ethos. Both friends and enemies speak of how principled he is and how much he sticks to those principles.

The final chapters where the author details his own dealings with Stallman and the wranglings of the books release under an open license also give a 1st hand personal insight into Stallman and those principles.

A great read about a massively important figure in the history of computing.