I manage computers running BSD variants every day, at work and at home. After many man page and RTFM iterations to support vital administrative aspects, a desire grew to understand what lay beneath my level of expertise. As eager as I was, I found the prospect of simply plunging into a lengthy code review unappealing.
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The most concise, grammatically correct, and pleasant article I have ever read posted here on OSNews. This article is a prime example on the type of material that should always be posted here. Bravo!
>The most concise, grammatically correct, and pleasant article I have ever read posted here on OSNews.
There are other gems too on our archives.
>This article is a prime example on the type of material that should always be posted here
Then, you will see one article posted per 6 months. And we can't afford to post that few.
Somehow I stumbled on the announcement of this book as well, there's a free chapter on the website. As the review states, it's very well written:
http://www.awprofessional.com/titles/0201702452
Wow not to be the one detractor but i think if i have trouble sleeping i will look up this article! The guy can write thats for sure but it reads like a two page shell script.
the article is excellent.
and the earlier book "The Design and Implementation of the 4.4BSD Operating System" is also excellent and there is a definite need for texts of this type. i am going to order the new one straightaway.
there needs to be a text like this for linux, and netbsd, and so on... explaining the hows and why's of the kernel design decisions.
the article author explains it well - these classic texts are not installtion guides or administration guides either.
the link above (awprofessional.com) suggests it;ll ship in 24 hours. amazon.co.uk suggests it won't be available until after sept 30th.
Kudos to Jeffrey Bianchine for an excellent review, and to Eugenia for publishing it. This is the kind of info I want to get, for help in day-to-day work.
All the vitriolic diatribes and religious wars are best left to /. and co. There's a place for it, and I love a good flame-thread as much as anyone; but sometimes I get really, really tired of all the fighting; and just want to read some good solid technical information. I just finished reading "Fortress Rochester" by Frank Soltis (designer of IBM's AS/400) and although I don't particularly like AS/400 machines, it was an excellent read, just for understanding the problems they wrestled with and the design decisions they made. A worthwhile read for anyone interested in Computer Architecture or OS design, even if you never touch an AS/400.
I've had the new "FreeBSD" edition on pre-order for a few months, hopefully it will arrive any day now!
I have to agree with several posts:
1) The authort can write
2) It partially reads like a shell script.
3) It is an excellent article.
A few more details would be like sprinkles on the ice-cream, such as:
1) TOC with some brief notes/description on the chapter
and ofcourse with the authors insight. Or maybe a
review of the sections of said book. Just a thought.
2) Not sure what else to add.
Bravo!!! Great read!!
I envy the reviewer, as I ordered my copy a few weeks ago and wait for it being shipped to Germany. 
Good to see that it seems to be good.
This is one of the clearest and most useful technical book review I've read.
Thanks Jeff!
Nice article, the author knows how to make his point clear. However I think it's at times a bit too repetitive. I don't really want to read about what kind of books these are NOT, I'd like to read a little more about what is actually in the book. Some example quotes would be nice. Otherwise kudos to the article author for taking this much effort and publishing it freely.
Save yourself some hard earned money and purchase "The Design and Implementation of the FreeBSD Operating System" from Bookpool.com. $41.95 ($12 less than awprofessional.com if you're not a member)
http://www.awprofessional.com/titles/0201702452
And here's the *cheap* link (sorry for the omission):
http://www.bookpool.com/.x/zrfcg8qo6i/sm/0201702452
...it would've been nice to hear *something* subjective as to which chapters are the most mindblowing, whether the FreeBSD volume can stand on its own (considering the textbook pricing), etc.