Just for Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary - Softcover

Torvalds, Linus; Diamond, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0066620732 ISBN 13: 9780066620732

Publisher: HarperBus, 2011

Synopsis

Once upon a time Linus Torvalds was a skinny unknown, just another nerdy Helsinki techie who had been fooling around with computers since childhood. Then he wrote a groundbreaking operating system and distributed it via the Internet -- for free. Today Torvalds is an international folk hero. And his creation LINUX is used by over 12 million people as well as by companies such as IBM.

Now, in a narrative that zips along with the speed of e-mail, Torvalds gives a history of his renegade software while candidly revealing the quirky mind of a genius. The result is an engrossing portrayal of a man with a revolutionary vision, who challenges our values and may change our world.

About this title

Review:

Linus Torvalds wrote the Linux kernel but Just For Fun could refer to writing the book. It isn't about Linux, it's about Linus. Here he tells us about his childhood, his time at Helsinki University, his marriage to six times karate champion Tove, about his children and about his attitude to life.

He comes across as a nice guy who, until Linux made him a celebrity, interacted with the world only tangentially. This could be in part a response to his frankly weird early home life in Finland.

David Diamond (of Red Herring magazine) acts as editor while Linus tells it like it is. But while Linus appears open, the story he tells is polished. As Liberace used to say when asked why people liked his take on the classics, "I leave out the boring bits". His four years in a darkened room with a computer as a boy may not have made gripping reading for everyone.

Linus is probably brilliant, but it's obsessive hard work, alone behind closed curtains, which enabled him to create Linux. One of the most interesting aspects of his story is how success--in his marriage and the wider world--has changed him. If we're to believe his own words his wife and children together with a Californian lifestyle are now his chief source of fun.

Linus Torvalds will one day rate an academic biography. In the meantime, the message here is that one route to personal fulfilment is doing what you want to do, as well as you can, for your own reasons--even just for fun. --Steve Patient

Review:

...a funny and readable book. Torvalds has charm and a low-key, selfdeprecating wit. -- New Scientist, 5 May 2001

...one of the most valuable volumes about IT that will go on sale this year and one of the most readable -- IT Week

A gripping read on the whole which is easy on the 'technical eye' and full of good, solid information. -- M2 Best Books, September 11, 2001

Linus Torvalds created Linux as a gift - and has forced us to ponder the nature of success. -- Financial Times, June 20, 2001

Linus Torvalds is a lot like Bill Gates...both are about the same height. -- USA Today

The book is a playful, witty and rather touching account of his progress.... -- Linuxuser, July - August 2001

[Linus Torvalds]chronicles his transformation from pale, skinny college kid to international folk hero. -- The Southern Daily Echo, 16 May 2001

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperBus
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0066620732
• ISBN 13: 9780066620732
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288