This post lists some books about free software and related topics, like the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and Richard Stallman.
List of Books about Free and Open Software
Books about free software featured on this post:
- The Cathedral and the Bazaar (1998)
- Free Software, Free Society (2002, 2010, 2015)
- Free as in Freedom (2002)
- Free/Open Source Software (2004)
- Breaking Barriers (2006)
- Open Advice (2012)
- Free for All (2000)
- For Fun and Profit (2017)
- Decoding Liberation (2007)
- Understanding Open Source and Free Software Licensing
- Producing Open Source Software (2005)
- Hacking Capitalism (2008)
- Perspective on Free and Open Source Software (2007)
- Free and Open Source Software: Policy, Law, and Practice (2014)
You can find most of these books on this Goodreads list about Free Software.
Book “The Cathedral and the Bazaar” (1998)
Eric S. Raymond book.
It is available to be downloaded in various formats from Archive.org.
Book “Free Software, Free Society” (2002, 2010, 2015)
Some Richard Stallman essays about free software are collected under the title “Free Software, Free Society: Selected Essays from Richard M. Stallman“. It was originally published on 2002, but further editions have been published on 2010 and 2015.
It has been printed by GNU Press. You can order a printed copy from FSF’s shop. GNU’s website hosts free downloadable PDF copies for the first and third edition. Archive.org hosts free downloadable copies in various formats for the first and second edition, but not the third.
Book “Free as in Freedom” (2002)
There is a biography about Richard Stallman called “Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman’s Crusade for Free Software” from March 2002, written by Sam Williams. It was published with the free license GNU Free Documentation License (GFLD).
It has been printed by O’Reilly Media. It is also available to be downloaded for free in various formats at Project Guthenberg.
Richard Stallman made some corrections and extended some topics on the book and published it as “Free as in Freedom 2.0“. This book is available to be downloaded in various formats from Archive.org.
Book “Free/Open Source Software” (2004)
The book “Free/Open Source Software: A General Introduction” (2004) was written by Kenneth Wong and Phet Sayo, and published on 2004.
It is available to be downloaded for free in PDF format on this external link.
Book “Breaking Barriers” (2006)
The book “Breaking Barriers: The Potential of Free and Open Source Software for Sustainable Human Development” was written by Nah Hoo Soe, published on 2006.
It is available to be downloaded for free in PDF format on this external link.
Book “Open Advice” (2012)
The book “Open Advice: Open Advice: FOSS, What We Wish We Had Known When We Started” was a cooperative work between many authors, and Lydia Pintscher was the editor. It was published on February 2012.
Printed copies can be purchased at Lulu.com. It is available to be downloaded on PDF format at openadvice.org.
“Open Advice“ Official website
Book “Free for all” (2000)
“Free for all: How Linux and the Free Software Movement Undercut the High-Tech Titans” by Peter Wayner, published on 2000.
It is available for free on different downloadable formats at Wayner.org.
It is the oldest book about the subject on this post.
Book “For Fun and Profit” (2017)
“For Fun and Profit: A History of the Free and Open Source Software Revolution” by Christopher Tozzi, published on 2017.
It is the newest book about the subject on this post.
You can buy it at Amazon.com.
Book “Decoding Liberation” (2007)
“Decoding Liberation: The Promise of Free and Open Source Software” by Samir Chopra and Scott D. Dexter.
Printed by Routledge on 2007.
Routledge Edition Official Website
Book “Understanding Open Source and Free Software Licensing”
Book “Understanding Open Source and Free Software Licensing“
Published by O’Reilly.
O‘Reilly Edition Official Website
Book “Producing Open Source Software” (2005)
Book “Producing Open Source Software: How to Run a Successful Free Software Project“
Printed version published by O’Reilly.
It is available to be downloaded from free on different formats.
“Producing Open Source Software” Official Website
Book “Hacking Capitalism” (2008)
Book “Hacking Capitalism: The Free and Open Source Software Movement“.
Published by Routledge.
Book “Perspective on Free and Open Source Software” (2007)
Book “Perspectives on Free and Open Source Software” is edited by Joseph Feller and others.
Book “Free and Open Source Software: Policy, Law, and Practice” (2014)
The book “Free and Open Source Software: Policy, Law, and Practice” is edited by Noam Shemtov and Ian Walden. It was published by Oxford University Press.
It is available at Amazon.
External references
- The Online Books Page; “Free computer software“; The Online Books Page
- e-booksdirectory.com; “OpenSource Software“; e-booksdirectory.com