The Joy Of Linux

by Michael Hall, Brian Proffitt

Book, hardback, 368 pages, list: $29.99

The Joy Of Linux is a fun, sarcastic, honest and neutral reflection on using Linux from a previous Windows user. It is not a chronologically ordered story or an instruction manual; rather, it is an examination by topics of Linux use from and end user perspective with some small insight into both technical issues and social/historical background. But most of all, it's just a funny, cool and wonderful book to read and enjoy. This is a great book.

I found Linux very engaging and easy to read; it has little or no technical content, none of those messy "Hands on, except whoops it doesn't work" demonstrations, no project advertising, and no holy warring. The author just gives you the real shit about the Linux user experience. There is an entire chapter entitled Sleeping With the Mistress about Windows and dual-booting; there is a lot of content about desktop environments and other such things; there is talk of RMS and Linus Torvalds, and other such people, and oh - in case you hadn't already guessed, the book is modeled after The Joy Of Sex, including some instructive chapter headings. (You want me to put it where?)

I found this book at Half Price Books where I get all of my technology books, and I have not at all regretted it. In fact, it is in the hands of one of my non-Linuxed friends who is interested in Linux and has enjoyed it so far.

Books to compare include Just For Fun, a Torvalds biography; Rebel Code, a book of open source history; The Cathedral And the Bazaar, regarding the socioeconomic merits of open source development; and many and sundry technical and historical books.

Linux is trademark of LT, some other stuff belongs to other people, and anon and anon, and so on, and so on.

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