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Linux happened by accident, Torvalds autobiography says

In an upcoming book, Linux creator Linus Torvalds states that the popularity of open-source software and the Linux operating system did not derive from a far-reaching strategic plan.

Michael Kanellos Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Michael Kanellos is editor at large at CNET News.com, where he covers hardware, research and development, start-ups and the tech industry overseas.
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Michael Kanellos
The French Revolution wasn't planned, and apparently the open-source one wasn't either.

In an upcoming book titled "Just for Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary," Linux creator Linus Torvalds states that the popularity of open-source software and the Linux operating system did not derive from a far-reaching strategic plan. Instead, it was just one of those things that sort of happens.

The book covers the development of the Linux operating system as well as Torvalds' life.

"It really works out, without requiring any real organization," Torvalds said in a statement. "All of this has happened quite naturally."

With the book, Torvalds will join the legion of technology gurus with an autobiography/business strategy volume to his name. Some of these books, such as Intel chairman Andy Grove's "Only the Paranoid Survive," have become fairly well known.

By contrast, CNET's Linux Center"Direct from Dell" by Dell Computer founder Michael Dell, "Virtual Selling" by Siebel Systems CEO Thomas Siebel and "Under the Radar" by Red Hat CEO Robert Young have yet to achieve widespread cultural status, at least while the authors remain alive.

"Just for Fun," which was co-written by Torvalds and author David Diamond, is scheduled to go on sale May 1.