The 10 Best Non-Technical Books on Linux and FOSS to Have on Your Shelf
In young and old age, in rich and poor parts of our life, on successes and on failures we need compass and guidance what to do next and how to escape the mistakes. The books can provide all this, and more - they have been doing it for centuries.
Why does reading books still matter in a world dominated by social media? First of all, the focus - the average book reader is much more focused on target area, whereas social media very often steal our focus to dozed of topics and this will degrade the productivity. Books also improve vocalbury and stimulate imagination; there two are almost non-existent in social media where creators want you to consume more and more posts. Finally, the level of understanding is very different: books take much more time but give much more knowledge.
Open source, with its many great and many failed projects, isn't a road full of red roses. The experience of other people can help you to create a successful project or get a lot of fame by contributing to other projects. In software development community means a lot, so being a great popular reader with serious is super necessary. Software licensing cannot be overestimated, as it directly affects how popular the program will be and how it will spread throughout the world. The skills like code review, version control, project funding and documentation writing are crucial for personal growth and career achievements.
We select the top 10 books that can help you understand the history, philosophy, and social impact of Linux and open source software, and provide practical advice for future contributors and leaders of open source projects.
"Just for Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary" by Linus Torvalds, David Diamond
No sense to introduce Linus Torvalds, he's famous enough as a genius Linux creator. But many years ago he was a young boy with his very serious interest - computers. This book will tell his story since early childhood, life in Finland, moving to USA and work in Transmeta. And, of course, the Linux is into center of his life: the author tells how he works with large community of developers and why Linus is so successful thanks to open source model. Compared to other IT patriarchs like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, Linus looks radically different as a human being.
Where to get: Amazon
"The Cathedral and the Bazaar" by Eric S. Raymond
Another must-read book about the open source community and its two monumental models: the traditional, closed development model (the cathedral) and the open, community-driven model of Linux (the bazaar). Many years after its publication, this book doesn't seem dated, as many of the author's insights are still relevant. "It's pretty clear that you can't code bazaar-style from scratch," Raymond says in defense of the importance of community.
The author also has good material on governance models of open source projects. He doesn't like classic democracy hero and suggests to apply controlled monarchy model or even some more radical like "beloved dictatorship" relations.
Where to get: Amazon
"Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution - 25th Anniversary Edition" by Steven Levy
Time to dive deeper and go back to the beginning. The book starts right at the roots of the computer revolution - the '50s, '60s, '70s, the good old days when PCs traveled the long road from labs to the average user's home - and uncovers the stories of the people who made it possible. "Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution" is filled with notes from computer pioneers like Steve Wozniak, Richard Stallman, and Bill Gates. The word "hack" has come to mean something like "rob the bank," but the original meaning is quite different: a clever or tricky way of solving a problem. This book also tells about very interesting facts from the past:
- Why did the IDE still mark code errors in red?
- What was the first video game?
- How did the Internet work before WWW?
- What is hacker ethic?
- and many more.
Where to get: Amazon
"Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software"
"Free Software" is the movement that is much bigger than the right to download free programs from the Internet, such as VLC player. Many years ago Richard Mattew Stollman graduated and worked in Harward Univercity. He developed some software and then he was forbidden to use it. Kind of a sad story, right? But he turned the bad story into an opportunity and dedicated part of his life to helping people get the right to use software without barriers, for free.
This book covers the political, social, and economic aspects of the free software movement. Some people call Stallman a radical, but this strong personality with uncompromising education made the FOSS ideas popular around the world. He transformed an anarchic community of hackers into a centralized organization with strong leadership.
The book also discusses historical aspect of FOSS movement: who will they be for next generations? A crew of radicals or the movement that was able to change software development and licensing patterns globally and inevitably.
Where to get: Amazon
"Producing Open Source Software: How to Run a Successful Free Software Project" by Karl Fogel
Open source software is very popular in the enterprise market because it's easier and cheaper for large companies to collaborate in the race for better software. There are many examples: Linux, PHP, MySQL, Apache.
Despite all this, many open source projects still fail, even with corporate support and funding. This book was written to solve this problem. Many successful patterns described here have been tried by developers and companies, so using this experience you and your company can create many successful projects. As is often the case, this book breaks complex problems into many smaller, easier problems and provides step-by-step guides to solving them.
Finally, a few words about the author - Karl Fogel is an experienced developer, contributor to Subversion and CVS.
Where to get: Amazon
"Little Brother" by Cory Doctorow
This is a book about Marcus, a 17-year-old teenager who is forced to choose sides. He has a happy life and only one funny problem: his school surveillance system with dictatorial manners. But all this will end one day...
There have been terrorist attacks in San Francisco, and Marcus and his friends are at the epicenter. They did nothing, but were in the wrong place at the wrong time, so they were caught by the Department of Homeland Security and taken to a secret prison...
Despite the science fiction theme, this book looks very current for these days 'cause it covers a lot of critical things: personal freedom, tracking software, Linux as an oasis free from tracking and police agents. And the main question itself: fight or surrender?
Where to get: Amazon
"Rebel Code: Linux and the Open Source Revolution" by Glyn Moody
Open Source evolved from a niche subculture of idealistic hackers to a movement that changed software development forever. "Rebel Code" chronicles the creation of open source projects and explores the changes in modern cyberculture. This book includes more than 50 interviews with iconic FOSS people like Torvalds, Stallman and cover the popular business trends in software development using the achivements of top open source personalities and their projects.
Where to get: Amazon
"Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution" edited by Chris DiBona, Sam Ockman, and Mark Stone
The book covers the success stories of Open Source projects, their impact on the software development industry and the future ideas. This is a great guide for programmers to get information from the leaders of the industry. Business people can pick up ideal how to successfully integrate Open Source projects into enterprise. The short list of key people: Brian Behlendorf (Apache), Tim O'Reilly (O'Reilly & Associates), Bruce Perens (Debian Project), Linus Torvalds (Linux), Larry Wall (Perl), and many more.
Where to get: Amazon
"The Open Organization: Igniting Passion and Performance" by Jim Whitehurst
This is the blueprint for reinvention that covers the path from ordinary business to successful business and explores the fastest ways to get there. There are topics on inspiring people, creativity, collaboration, business organization, and much more.
Jim Whitehurst, the ex-CEO of Red Hat, the revolutionary Linux integrator company, has a lot to say: management principle, transparency, participation. He shares the ideas of modern innovative organizational model. This book is a must read for executives, business analysts and top managers.
Where to get: Amazon
"The Art of Community: Seven Principles for Belonging" by Charles Vogl
This is the practical leadership guide for building a supportive community with a strong purpose. Some communities are created by happy ocasion, but the author suggest to use the purpose, effective principles and rules that are well described in this book. Vogl describes each principle and offers the toolset for implementation, also sharing the ways to avoid toxic communication and aggression within the community.
Where to get: Amazon
Final note
Thanks for reading! I hope each of these books can make you a better developer, professional, or just a great person. Stay tuned!
