4 Stars
"In the Beginning... was the Command Line" is that rarest of specimens: a short book written by Neal Stephenson. In truth, "Command Line" isn't really a book. It began its life as an online post, and was only published after the fact. In it, Stephenson sketches out a brief outline of the development of computers -- especially personal computers and their operating systems -- during the 1980s and '90s. It is a quick and fun read, filled with Stephensonian humor and creative metaphors that both entertain and enlighten.
In the course of "Command Line," Stephenson briefly touches on the basics of programming before moving on to discuss the history of operating systems over the last twenty years. He looks at the main operating systems out there (specifically Mac, Windows, Linux, BeOS), how they evolved, and their attractions and advantages. His main points are that "it is the fate of operating systems to become free" and that Microsoft's commitment to maintaining its own closed operating system will cripple its broader software development activities, much in the way Apple was hurt by its insistence on producing its own hardware. Though not much is developed, there is a lot of interesting food for thought in these few pages.
Stephen works largely through metaphors, and "Command Line" is written for the layperson. Few people should have any difficulty getting through the book, even without computer experience. Amazon's insistence that the book was written "for an audience of coders and hackers" strikes me as bizarre. There is almost nothing technical in "Command Line," and what is technical (a brief discussion of the Linux file tree is the only topic that comes to mind) is not critical to understanding any of his points and arguments.
In addition to summarizing the history of operating systems, Stephenson also considers some related cultural topics, such as the significance of the graphical user interface as opposed to the command line. Although some of this was interesting, there were a few digressions I thought didn't work particularly well, and which I would have expected to be edited out (or at least significantly revised) before publishing.
Although "Command Line" was written five years ago (a long time in the computer world), its age does not damage it much (especially in the historical sections). If you're interested in the history of personal computing over the last twenty years, "In the Beginning... was the Command Line" is a quick read that can serve as an entertaining introduction. Although it doesn't have much substance, it still manages to make many interesting points. Unless you are a hard-core Stephenson fanatic, "Command Line" is probably not worth purchasing. Since it was originally nothing more than a post on the Internet, it can still easily be found online.
(24 June 2004)
