I had very high hopes for this official history of a well respected world leader. The publisher, W.W. Norton & Co., Inc. sent me a review copy last fall and I was immediately impressed with the artwork. Unfortunately, I wasn’t as impressed with the writing.

The history contained in the book is accurate to the best of my knowledge, and Mandela’s life is certainly interesting enough for me to force my way through reading the entire book, but the narrative style is dull and unsuited to the graphic novel format, where one could tell the story much more effectively using images and dialogue instead of treating the artwork as mere illustrations to accompany walls of text.

The bottom line here is that if you are looking for a biography of Nelson Mandela that has good information and nice illustrations, this book is worth your time. If you are looking for a quality graphic novel, using the criteria generally considered for rating items in that format, you will be disappointed. The quality of the art is better than adequate, good even, but the failure to truly adapt the narrative style to the format being used was disappointing. I am glad I read the book for the history it contains, but I ended up giving my copy away after I read it as it is highly unlikely I would read it twice.

A little while ago I allowed a chapter from one of my books to be reposted in the most recent edition of an independent art and culture ‘zine from Tucson called Dove & Snake.

As a thank you, I have been allowed to offer a free copy of the issue to one of you, my blog readers. I’m not good at contest creation, so I’ll keep this simple. The person whose comment I deem the wittiest will receive a free copy. The comment must be made directly on this blog, not on a site that syndicates my posts like Facebook or LinkedIn or something else, and must be made no later than Wednesday, December 9th at the totally random time of 12 noon my local time. I will choose my favorite and will contact that person directly to get mailing address details (so be sure to use a real email address when you comment if you want to be considered).

So, have at it. The funnier the better. You may post an anecdote, a joke, an observation, or whatever comes to mind as long as it is family/work safe.

Reviews have begun to appear for VMware Cookbook, written by Ryan Troy with some assistance from me. The comments I am seeing have been positive.

Comments have appeared today from Meera Subbarao’s Java Blog, Learnxpress, and Amazon.com.

Years ago I purchased a copy of the very first edition of Learning Python.It was a small book, about 350 pages, but in 1999 when it came out, it was one of the best introductions to the language that existed. I hadn’t picked up my copy for some time, but I remember well how useful it was when I first bought it. When O’Reilly offered me a free review copy of Learning Python, fourth edition, I figured the differences between the two editions would primarily consist of updates to the content based on the differences in Python release versions, and that I wouldn’t likely learn much more from the new edition. I was wrong, and I will explain how and why below.

This book is HUGE. It weighs in at over 1100 pages and is filled with clear explanations, interesting history, and the most useful description of the foundations of the Python programming language that I have seen. The material was developed by the author, Mark Lutz, over the last decade, during which he has taught hundreds of seminars introducing Python. Lutz compiled the new edition based on the materials taught in a three day training class, complete with quizzes and meaningful exercises. While Lutz was one of the two original authors of the first edition, he is now the sole author of the book and it is obvious that his extensive experience teaching seminars has refined his presentation of Python in ways that will benefit readers of this book. The understanding of student needs shows clearly in the text, which focuses on the core of the language.

Learning Python is based on the new 3.x series of the Python language, but points out the differences between it and the still-supported and sometimes incompatible earlier 2.6 edition, so whichever version of the language you are learning or require you will find the information you need to begin here. Some may ask why cover the old version when the new one has so many improvements, but the answer is simply that there is a lot of legacy code that is not going to be updated soon and so people will need to support that code, which is often incompatible with Python 3.x without some changes.

The book covers many topics, none of which seem unimportant or superfluous. While the page counts seems quite daunting, a closer examination shows there is no need to be intimidated. The page count does not add complexity or difficulty, but actually gives room for clearer and more complete descriptions and definitions alongside practice questions that students will find very useful. The topics include all of the obvious foundational needs starting with history, how to run programs and use some common editors. It moves to core data types and operations, spending several pages clearly defining and describing each and how they are used, before introducing statements and syntax on page 261. I like how the differences between 2.6 and 3.x are clearly shown, such as the change from a print statement in 2.6 to a print function in 3.x and how either is implemented and used as well as the reasoning behind the change. Functions are introduced and discussed, as are modules, classes, object oriented programming, exceptions, and several advanced topics. There are two appendices covering installation and configuration and giving the solutions to the exercises in the book

It has been a long time since I did any programming. My life took a different path. This book has reminded me of how fun it is to write and read code in Python and made me wonder how I might find or create opportunities to return programming to my busy life (but this time around, if I make the time to write anything, it will be in Python 3.x). This book is why.

Lutz has also authored O’Reilly’s Programming Python, which was explicitly designed to be a follow up text to this one, which I have read and which also sits on my bookshelf, but which I have not reviewed (I bought that one a couple years ago and at the time was not writing book reviews.–if there is interest, I’ll review it at a later time).

Disclosures: I bought the first edition, but was given this fourth edition free by O’Reilly as a review copy, I also write for O’Reilly.

I’ve been talking about this book for months. It has been over a year since Ryan Troy and I started the process of creating it. Finally, VMware Cookbook is available for purchase. If it hasn’t appeared in your local bookstore, it should soon (at least the Barnes & Noble and Borders outlets are planning to carry it, and I imagine many others will too).

Okay, I admit it. I love Wil Wheaton. Hmm. Honestly, I don’t know him, so I can’t really say that. However, I love his writing; it is so clear, interesting, and makes me feel like I know him. I guess it would be more honest to say that I love those parts of him he has chosen to reveal of himself in his writing, but that sounds awkward.

While I have kept current on Wil’s blog for a long time, it is only now that I have finally read his book Just a Geek. It came out in hardcover while I was living in Africa and wasn’t able to pick up a copy easily. O’Reilly has just released it in paperback and I happened to be paying attention, so here we are.

I loved it.

Wil is funny. He is honest about his struggles and humanity, including the not-so-pretty bits that we all know we are trying to hide from one another. He admits that at the time the book was written (2004) this was a new thing. After following his blog for years, I will add that we have all benefited from his personal epiphanies and catharsis.

I don’t want to steal the joy of reading the book and so I am struggling with what to share. I’ll simply say that this is a sort of annotated diary that chronicles Wil’s journey from successful childhood movie actor to teenage Star Trek: The Next Generation star who loved the geek aspects of being a part but found the part limiting at times and the fan criticism hurtful to a struggling actor to coming to grips with all of these and realizing who he really is and what he is meant to do. Wow, that was a long and rather tortured sentence. It is a pretty accurate description of the book, although it leaves out all the bits that made me laugh so hard on the city bus that people turned around to look at me and stare.

Oh, and there is a promotional quote from Cory Doctorow on the back cover and a forward in the book written by Neil Gaiman. Seriously, any geek who knows who either or both of those two guys are will probably love the book. I did.

Disclosures: When I noticed this was being rereleased, I asked O’Reilly for a review copy and they graciously sent it to me gratis. I write for O’Reilly, and I like them. I don’t know Wil, but I wish I did and I kind of hope he sees this and gives me advance notice next time he is going to be in Tucson for a con because I missed the last one and only found out when I saw a picture of him with a friend of mine on Facebook.

Not too long ago I found myself waiting around for something and with nothing to do. That sort of leisure time is rare for me, but when it comes I try to use those moments to pursue things that I enjoy. Reading is one of those pleasures. I happened to be near a bookstore and walked in. While browsing I picked up a book with an all black cover and the title in all capital white letters, BURN THIS BOOK. I had to pick it up for a closer inspection.

The book is a short collection of essays by published authors all centered around the ideas of censorship and the power of literature to inform our understanding of the world. It was edited by Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison. All of the writers are members of PEN American Center, which strongly and actively advocates for freedom of the press and the unhampered expression of ideas around the world.

You would think that in this collection of essays the writers would focus on the evils of censorship, but you would be wrong. Instead, each tries to answer the simple question, “Why write?” Writing is viewed not so much as a political tool, but as a means of communicating the depth of human experience, thought, feeling, and insight from one person to another. It is in this that these writers find purpose. The goal is simple: to express in narrative what is contained in the soul. When we silence those who feel compelled to speak, we lose a part of our collective humanity.

I was fascinated by the repeated theme that the writer who is most effective is the one who writes for herself. It is not the goal of an artist to express what others want to see or hear, but to express the unique understanding and perspective he has which he can no longer contain. I have felt this compulsion on two occasions and can testify that my best writing has happened when I gave no consideration to my audience while writing, but only after I had fully expressed what I felt had to be said–only then could I work to find a way to express it more powerfully or comprehensibly to a specific audience.

If you are interested in the power of the written word and what opinionated and interesting writers have to say about it using language that is both beautifully and skillfully crafted, you should pick this book up. It is one that I have savored, reading only one essay at a time so as to give me time to think about the ideas presented, absorb them, and savor the quality of the phrasing, hoping that the experience would not end too quickly.

I feel inspired to start making time to write another book, just for myself again and not for money. I’ve no idea when it will be finished, but I have a narrative inside me that is crying out to be shared. This book caused that reawakening.

Disclosure: I bought this book. I reviewed it solely because I liked it and thought others would as well.

Years ago I purchased a copy of Linux in a Nutshell, fourth edition. That book has been well used and is looking a bit shabby. When O’Reilly offered me a free review copy of Linux in a Nutshell, sixth edition, I jumped at the chance. Some of the thoughts that follow will apply to either edition (as well as the not-reviewed fifth edition, which I don’t have), but I will point out some of the more important or obvious updates to help others who also own older editions to determine whether the changes are sufficient to convince them to buy the new version.

This book is not intended as a tutorial, but rather as a quick reference. While the irony of titling a 900+ page book “… in a Nutshell” is not lost on me, like all of the books in O’Reilly’s Nutshell series, this book is a fabulous resource for finding out the details of a specific command or concept rapidly.

Let me start with the foundation for my opinion that this book is one of the most useful and important books for anyone who uses Linux from the command line on a regular basis or wants to be able to or plans to do so. Any command you should desire to use is listed in chapter 3, with the command’s syntax and options. This gives you one place to look that does not require an internet connection or the patience to scroll up and down reading man pages for commands. This is a book about Linux as it was originally conceived and intended: a powerful operating system based directly upon and consistent with the philosophy and design of Unix, but free for anyone to download, install, copy, modify, share and use.

This book is not about how to use Linux on the desktop, and in fact, the sixth edition does not cover the Linux desktop at all. What you do find are discussions, descriptions, and definitions of all of the main tools and tricks a person needs to get work accomplished using Linux as a platform–not the specific programming languages like C, Java or Python, but the underlying tools such as commands from the GNU project and BSD, editors like vi and emacs, using the bash shell, source code management using subversion and git (both new to this edition, replacing a discussion of CVS), and great introductions to Linux system and network administration. In addition, we have a wonderful new chapter on virtualization command line tools that covers all the main options such as KVM, Xen and VMware.

I am amazed that my description thus far has only scratched the surface of the book. I haven’t yet mentioned the chapters covering sed and gawk, the discussion of software package management, the chapter detailing LILO and Grub boot loaders, or the lovely section on pattern matching which should save a lot of people a good amount of time.

My disappointments in the book are a bit niggly. While the book was written and tested using each of the main Linux distributions (Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora and SUSE), there have been a couple of updates to software covered in the book that were not available when the book went to press. Since I know how long it takes to write and prepare a manuscript for printing, it is kind of silly for me to want a book that was published in September 2009 to cover Windows 7 (although dual booting with earlier versions is covered), ext4, or Grub2, even if these are all current in late October 2009 (the latter two being included in Ubuntu 9.10).

The positives are that this is a clear, well written and edited (disclosure: I worked with one of the editors, Andy Oram, on VMware Cookbook), and filled with valuable information with an easy to use index and table of contents with a tighter than previous focus on the internal bits of Linux without the earlier distractions of trying to mention GNOME and KDE or a wider variety of shell options while only covering each with too little detail to be useful. This edition expands the content on the things it does cover to a very useful level of detail while making the hard decision of what to omit to keep the book within a bindable number of pages.

In any edition, this book has a permanent place on my shelf for reference. If you own an older version, the decision to buy the latest edition will depend on whether you want or need the absolute latest info on specific commands (this stuff doesn’t change often, but it does change) and whether you are interested in the new or expanded material covered in this edition as outlined above. If you never use the command line in Linux, the book might not interest you. Otherwise, I can’t imagine using Linux without having a copy nearby.

Disclosures: I bought an earlier edition, but was given the sixth edition free by O’Reilly as a review copy, I write for O’Reilly, and I have worked with one of the editors who also worked on this book.

I review books on this blog occasionally. Many of them are books I bought myself and wanted to share with people because I found them interesting or useful. Some are books that have been sent to me by publishers (some of whom also publish books I have worked on).

Apparently the new Federal Trade Commission guidelines will require that starting in December 2009 bloggers who have any connection to publishers will be required to state that fact in any articles they write, whether that connection is employment (which makes sense) or just simply that the publisher provided the product being reviewed for free.

More here on the Daily Kos website, which has further links to additional sources.

What do you think? Should I tell publishers not to send me free books in the hopes that I will review them? Should I just stop reviewing books that interest me? Would it bother anyone if you found out that I reviewed the upcoming edition of a Linux book (or something else) after receiving it for free, even if I emphatically state that my opinion is being posted unedited and based not on the fact that the book was free but on the contents of that book?

I mentioned earlier that a local indie zine, Dove & Snake, had reprinted a chapter from one of my books. They also interviewed me recently for their website. You may read the interview here if you are interested.