Rating: 
Summary: A good book to those who have actually read it...
Review: The reviewer who admittedly has not read the book also has no idea what context the author and Stallman use the word "free" in. This is "free" as in "freedom", as the title says. Not "free" as in "free beer", as they say.Stallman's views are basically for free information. The base price of free software can be one dollar or 1000 dollars. The source code for it must be available, though, and it must be made distributable for those who want it. The idea is that interested programmers can add, improve, and change around the program for the benefit of everyone. If we extend this purpose to include his book, as the reviewer implied, then it would still be completely valid. Source code (the English syntax) is available, so people can modify the book, and they can distribute it so that others can do the same. The base price can easily be [money]. The pricing is irrelevent if the other two conditions are met. I suppose that the reviewer would know these things if he was qualified to review the book (that is, if he had read it, which he admittedly has not). On the topic of the book itself, I enjoyed it immensely. It was definitely not too short, and most certainly not too long. It was just right for the type of story it was telling. The book focuses mostly on Stallman's life and his decisions and discoveries that he made that led him to start the Free Software Foundation. Throughout the book, it becomes clear that Stallman is a very gifted man (he learned Calculus when he was seven), but it wasn't until his college years that he really found his niche. When he did, his gifts became apparent, and his true potentials came out. I would encourage anyone who is interested in free or open-source software to read this book for the background on the man who started it all. His rationale is very thought-provoking, and makes you wonder about some of the other things in life that should be questioned, but now are simply taken for granted.
Rating: 
Summary: A nice afternoon read
Review: This book offers interesting view into Richard Stallman. Williams should be saluted for taking on the difficult task of giving us, outside the gnu world, an understanding of the enigma who is Richard Stallman. His philosophy is clearly presented, yet details of others in the hacker universe are lacking. The book is filled with technical details and is unfinished, as Williams states, to be updated online. Overall, this is the best glimpse we have of Stallman the man.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: This book was a nice introduction to the life of Richard Stallman. If anyone is interested in the GNU or Free Software Foundation read this book! It brings to light the reason why Stallman had to create the FSF/GNU. I've always liked what GNU was about, but after reading this book I think I have a better understanding of why something like this is necessary and needed. It was well written and a quick read, hats off to Sam Williams in starting this continuing project.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book on a very interesting personality
Review: This is a good book on Richard Stallman, the man behind GNU. Prior to reading this book, I had never even seen what he looks like, yet his work and dedication have had a great impact on my professional and academic career (I've been using GNU tools and compilers since my undergrad days in the early 1990s). It's good to finally place a face and personality with GNU. The book itself provides a good story on Stallman, but the writing is poor. There are a modest number of typos throughout the book (come on now, couldn't the author have at least run ispell on the document?) as well as a few astounding grammatical errors. Furthermore, the author doesn't do a very good job placing dates with most of his facts. The introduction to the printer incident -- evidently a defining moment in Stallman's life -- is not even given a year. This is important, for the events that methodically unfolded in Stallman's life motivated him greatly. With this in mind, the author fails to convey much time-continuity with his writing; in particular, he shifts back and forth between the present and the past without regard for even stating what year he's discussing. Finally, a short, concise timeline of events as an appendix or something would have been nice. All in all, this is a very good book about Stallman and his motivations for free software. If you've ever used GNU tools, compilers, or GNU/Linux, then you owe it to yourself to read this book and understand how these pieces of software got into your hands.
Rating:
Summary: A book full of inspiration.
Review: Truely to be admired -- Time will not forget Richard Stallman's work in GNU. (for pelegrinus: omit your needless words. There is nothing to fear in freedom.)
Rating:
Summary: Worth Reading
Review: While other reviews here are highly critical, this book has received wide distribution and readership, and therefore has become required reading. Being a relatively short book (little over 200 pages), it is an easy read, and allows a decent glimpse into RMS' history and life. RMS has played a phenomenally important key role in the creation and preservation of free software, namely through the creation of the Free Software Foundation, the GNU Public License and also through the wealth of important projects the FSF has produced. He is the true messiah of free software, and while his ideals in general may not be unique, he pioneered the freedom movement in digital form which has expanded beyond software alone and into content as well (see also the Electronic Frontier Foundation -- eff.org).
Rating:
Summary: Folksy (slightly choppy) quick bio
Review: written and presented a little too choppily (and sloppily) for my liking, but gives an excellent glimpse into the last 20 years of RMS/FSF/GNU through quotes, vignettes, etc. favorite RMS story: working on the MIT school paper, and having him call in with a tip and signing off "Happy Hacking!"...
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