This biography chronicles a large portion of software programmer Richard Stallman’s controversial and storied career. He is often regarded as one of the most prolific, ingenious programmers of our time, a pioneer of the free software movement and a brilliant man who has dedicated his life to programming and activism.

Though his contributions to the software industry are numerous (e.g. launching the GNU Project, GNU Public License, GNU Emacs, and more), his complicated personality and stalwart support of free software has donned him a contentious reputation in the software industry.

Free as in Freedom walks you through crucial events in Stallman’s career, touching upon many important figures who also helped shape the software industry and the free software movement, commonly referred to these days as “open-source software.” I enjoyed learning about programming culture in its early days, how certain operating systems and free software were created, and the moral dilemmas of the free vs. commercial software debate.