Free as in Freedom interweaves biographical snapshots of GNU project founder Richard Stallman with the political social & economic history of the free software movement. It examines Stallmans unique personality & how that personality has been at turns a driving force & a drawback in terms of the movements overall success. Free as in Freedom examines one mans 20-year attempt to codify & communicate the ethics of 1970s era hacking" culture in such a way that later generations might easily share & build upon the knowledge of their computing forebears. The book documents Stallmans personal evolution from teenage misfit to prescient adult hacker to political leader & examines how that evolution has shaped the free software movement. Like Alan Greenspan in the financial sector Richard Stallman has assumed the role of tribal elder within the hacking community a community that bills itself as anarchic & averse to central leadership or authority. How did this paradox come about? Free as in Freedom provides an answer. It also looks at how the latest twists & turns in the software marketplace have diminished Stallmans leadership role in some areas while augmenting it in others. Finally Free as in Freedom examines both Stallman & the free software movement from historical viewpoint. Will future generations see Stallman as a genius or crackpot? The answer to that question depends partly on which side of the free software debate the reader currently stands & partly upon the readers own outlook for the future. 100 years from now when terms such as "computer " "operating system" & perhaps even "software" itself seem hopelessly quaint will Richard Stallmans particular vision of freedom still resonate or will it have taken its place alongside other utopian concepts on the ash-heap of history?"