LinuxQuestions.org Reviews

Rounan · 02-10-2004, 02:25 PM

A must-read for anyone who's ever wondered what on earth would posess someone to write an operating system.

Linus divulges details of what was going on behind the scenes during crucial stages of Linux development - apparently, a lot of dark closets and dry pasta. Besides his philosophy on the meaning of life, readers are given insights into Linus' family, heritage and ethics.

A fine depictment of the hacker whose creation surprised no one more than himself.

rodviking · 03-01-2004, 09:03 AM

I read the excellent "Rebel Code" and thought that reading "Just for Fun" would be a nice idea, to know more about Linux and its author through his own words. The problem is that Linus and the journalist who helped him failed to make the book interesting, so it becomes a sequence of chapters like "yeah I needed a new driver for my modem, so...well I did it"

In one page he's doing Linux version 0.01 alone in his bedroom in Helsinki, 15 pages later he's talking about having 10 million users, and leaves no clue HOW it happened, or who was involved (guys like Dave Miller and Alan Cox, so important to the Linux community, didn't get one single mention)

So if you want to really understand not only WHAT happened but HOW it happened, I recommend "Rebel Code" instead. It covers not only Linux and Linux, but the whole open-source movement.

Mara · 04-10-2004, 07:10 PM

Nice book, telling much about Linus and his view on Linux.

If you're searching for a book that describes WHY everything happened, that's not the right book for you. If you'd like to know more about Linus and why he started writing what was later called Linux and have a good time, read it.

What may be annoying for some people, narration goes back and forth, but years are mentioned.

Warning: there are serious mistakes like calling Apache a disto.

tutwabee · 08-02-2004, 04:38 PM

This book is mostly about Linus and his life. The book emphasizes on his childhood and the years spent developing the core parts of the Linux kernel. The book is a good biography on Linus but it doesn't have enough details about the development of the Linux kernel. Howerver, many topics are covered for such a small book.