FSF announces publication of two new books by Richard Stallman

BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA -- Friday, May 6th, 2011 -- The Free
Software Foundation (FSF) has just released in tandem the second
edition of its president and founder Richard Stallman's selected
essays, Free Software, Free Society, and his semi-autobiography,
Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman and the Free Software
Revolution. The books can be ordered at http://shop.fsf.org. As
part of the launch, the FSF is also offering copies of each book
signed by the author at http://shop.fsf.org/category/signed/

The new edition of Free Software, Free Society features a number
of improvements: it has both new essays and updated versions of
classic pieces on the GNU Project and free software. Part of the
book is devoted to the issue of language framing and its
significance in the survival of free software; another discusses
the traps that erode computer-user freedoms, and a third urges
software users to choose civic values and community over
convenience. This edition also adds an index, and a new
introduction by FSF licensing compliance engineer Brett Smith.

Also now in print is GNU Press's second edition of Free as in
Freedom, Sam Williams's biography of Richard Stallman, revised
and annotated by Stallman. Williams released the first edition of
the book under the GNU Free Documentation License, thus
encouraging others to modify and improve upon the work. While the
second edition is actually a new joint work, it follows in this
original spirit. "I have aimed," writes Stallman, "to make this
edition combine the advantages of my knowledge and Williams's
interviews and outside viewpoint." Stallman preserves all of
Williams's relevant quotes and most of his personal impressions,
and contrasts them with his own.

These books will be available electronically as PDFs but will
notably not be distributed in the Amazon Kindle format or for any
other proprietary ebook reading platform, because of the Digital
Restrictions Management (DRM) those systems impose on
users. "This malicious device," says Stallman, "is designed to
attack the traditional freedoms of readers: There's the freedom
to acquire a book anonymously, paying cash -- impossible with the
Kindle for all well-known recent books. There's the freedom to
give, lend, or sell a book to anyone you wish -- blocked by DRM
and unjust licenses. Then there's the freedom to keep a book --
denied by a back door for remote deletion of books."

Proceeds from the sale of these books will help fund the FSF's
campaigns to defend and promote computer users' rights --
including its work against DRM via the DefectiveByDesign.org
campaign.

Ordering: the books can be ordered online at http://shop.fsf.org,
where signed copies are also available.  Wholesalers: contact
sales@fsf.org for pricing.  Review copies: if you are a reviewer
or a teacher interested in using the books in a class, please
contact sales@fsf.org about obtaining review copies.  Media
contact: for book signings, public appearances, interviews, and
speaking engagements, please contact rms-assist@gnu.org.  About
the Free Software Foundation

The Free Software Foundation, founded in 1985, is dedicated to
promoting computer users' right to use, study, copy, modify, and
redistribute computer programs. The FSF promotes the development
and use of free (as in freedom) software -- particularly the GNU
operating system and its GNU/Linux variants -- and free
documentation for free software. The FSF also helps to spread
awareness of the ethical and political issues of freedom in the
use of software, and its Web sites, located at http://fsf.org and
http://gnu.org, are an important source of information about
GNU/Linux. Donations to support the FSF's work can be made at
http://donate.fsf.org. Its headquarters are in Boston, MA, USA.

## Media Contacts

Jeanne Rasata
Program Assistant
Free Software Foundation
+1 (617) 542 5942 x15
rms-assist@gnu.org


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