The first 50 pages or so describe Linus as a kid. I have never seen anyone describe what its like to grow up a geek so succinctly and humorously. An ubergeek reading this will have a fit of nostalgia when he/she reads about Linus's mom saying "I always worried how he was going to meet nice girls like that" or "Linus was a fairly easy kid to raise, just give him a dark room, and a computer, and throw in some dry pasta every now and then and he'll be happy". This section is also likely to appeal to people trying to UNDERSTAND us geeks.
The next 100 or so pages are a description of the history of Linux. This section comes with an appropriate warning: moderately geeky language until page 130". The authors are correct in assuming that you may need to be a geek to understand and appreciate this part of the book. For programmers, this section is insightful, and even inspiring.
By far the silliest part of the book comes next, as David Diamond describes his meetings with Linus. Linus is portrayed as eccentric, and here we learn of the programmer and the journalists frequent trips to the spa et al. Interesting but kinda dumb.
Definitely the best part of this book is the end, where Linus begins to tell us his opinions on open-source, Intellectual Property, etc. Although I often disagreed with Linus, his opinions were well thought out and interesting.
In conclusion this book is clever, funny, and informative, a must read for geeks, or geek-wannabe's. My only problem: Linus's writing is choppy and often grammatically incorrect, but I can't blame Linus for this one as English is a second language to him.
Linus starts with shedding some light on his childhood. His first encounters with VIC-20 are interesting read. The second computer he had was a Sinclair QL. It was a very rare computer and didn't have many games or other applications. To use and learn its functions, Linus had to write new programs all by himself. At that time most programming books and magazines focused on games. So before reading this book I had wondered how an earth would some young guy get so interested in operating systems and system tools. I'd guess the experience with QL had a lot to do with it.
The rest of the book is about how the Linux kernel was born and how it grew along with Linus to the popular operating system it is today. This story has been told many many times in different occasions. Here, we get some inside information on what has been Linus's role in the growth of the Linux community. It becomes somewhat clear that Linus is all but a "benevolent dictator" or an idealist. He is a one of the pragmatic and selfish moderators of a vast programming project called Linux. Though he owns the Linux trademark and is the project's public icon, in the end, Linus is just one hacker from Finland. Linus says there is not much sense to compare him to american business emperors like Bill Gates.
Linus talks many times about Finland and how people live there in a non-competitive environment. He vaguely compares this picture to California and the United States with highly commercial and competitive spirit. I found these parts convincing. It makes the reader think what has been the role of the environment in the birth of Linux. In 1991 when Linux was started there were many competing operating systems at the same technical level. After reading this book, I'd guess one of the factors for Linux's success has been the character of Linus in the lead. Linus points many times that he has been the guy others have trusted.
American journalist David Diamond has followed Linus in the making of the book. His notes all around it make undoubtedly the worst part -- excluding hype-quotes on the back cover. Fortunately about 90% of the text is neutral trustworhy stuff by Linus. In contrast, Diamond writes like any american high-tech journalist in a buzzy day. He is unable to put any analysis or interesting information out. Maybe american readers love it but I had to skip most of Diamond's contributions.
And oh, there are parts in the book where Linus presents his interpretation on the meaning of life and stuff like that. Just for fun.
In overall a very readable and interesting book.
But make no mistakes, Linus is not some kind of rabid anti-commercial software communist. He's a just a very talented and diligent programmer who is doing this for fun. Not for money, not for fame. Ok, maybe a bit of fame. And a few stuffed penguins. And a BMW. Nonetheless, it's an interesting story and in many ways a nice contrast with the usual egotistical biographies of Silicon Valley technologists.