Red Hat Summer Reading List

Thought Orville and Wilbur Wright were the kings of aviation? Think again. The Wright brothers took every precaution necessary to keep their flying machine under wraps in an effort to dominate the industry. Glenn Hammond Curtiss, a true father of flight, collaborated with engineers from America and abroad, openly sharing information and ideas, thus creating a reliable aircraft. See the connection?

An expert in cyber law and founder of the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford University, Lessig presents an entertaining and shocking look at Copyright law in the digital age. If you are at all concerned by technologies' control of culture and and innovation, this is a must read. "What's at stake is our freedom--freedom to create, freedom to build, and ultimately, freedom to imagine." Larry Lessig

Through use of clear, comprehensive examples, this book explains concepts and demonstrates how architectures operate. "Curt Schimmel's, UNIX Systems for Modern Architectures is excellent, and is required for all architecture maintainers at Red Hat."

An intro to clusters plain and simple. This book not only explains about clusters, but also the performance and scalability issues people see on SMP, NUMA, and clustered systems.

This is a must read for any one involved in the open source community. Eric Raymond's collection of essays provide a fascinating view into benefits of open source and the future of technology in the digital age.

In this book, Bardwick Argues that people at all levels of American business are preoccupied with their rewards and not their responsibilities. A relevant and practical discourse on employee motivation.

Practical and relevant, this book is full of case studies and discussions regarding UNIX. While not a lot of code is displayed, major topics include: why Unix is the way it is, and the people who made it that way.

Utilizing anecdotes and war stories, Agans approaches problems by thinking rather than diving straight into code. The nine rules described in this book are applicable to all systems, regardless of language. They provide explanations, thought experiments, and describe limits of tech support.

He's known more as a DJ than an author--but that is about to change. DJ Spooky, aka Paul D. Miller, has written a brilliant book on the art of sampling and its affect on culture. Astonishingly brilliant--like hip-hop channeled through an anthropology professor. References come furiously and from all directions: Duchamp to Emerson to Charlie Parker to Whitman. The idea is that art, science, music are all better when information is exchanged freely. For open source fans, the connection should be obvious. "...the creative act itself is becoming a source-code like Linux where people create and add modules of thought-ware to the mix..." The book also comes with the DJ Spooky album, "Rhythm Science"--alone worth the price of admission.

Fast-paced fiction, this sci-fi adventure moves between WWII and the present. This book is long, but if you're a sucker for precise details, math, and of course, cryptology, you will surely get a kick out of this one.

Check out this guide to the Python scripting language and begin solving problems asap. As you dive in further, more secrets will be revealed, and soon you will be a Python master. Programmers and system administrators will appreciate the semi-guided experimentation that is essential to new comers in the Python world.

Wall Street Journal reporter David Bank takes an unprecedented look into Microsoft Corp., using interviews and a massive collection of emails made public during the antitrust suit. This book delves deep into the inner workings of one the largest companies in the world.

A first edition, Linux Routers: A Primer For Network Administrators, is the book for implementing Linux-based routers. It has an excellent introduction. Topics are well covered. Explanations are straight forward and logical. They include: production-routing scenarios, detailed guidance on configuration, problem avoidance, and troubleshooting. If you need a generic router book, this is it.

Sick of The Man bringing you down? You are not alone. Legal scholar and professor of law, Joel Bakan assesses the most influential institution of our time, the corporation. Filled with scandal, discontent, and unparalleled domination, corporations continue to shape the public and political sphere. But at what cost? Rave reviews accompany this extensively researched and well written commentary.