I must say that I dont't quite understand the flaming here. No, Katz's book isn't strictly relevant to Linux - but then a lot of other things aren't either. Tunnel vision is a bad thing, I personally like the fact that /. doesn't single-mindedly focus on just the tech stuff. Especially since the new filter stuff allows you to never see the "non-tech" articles if they annoy you.
As for Katz: good for him! I think people read way too few books nowadays, and anything that promotes literacy is Good(tm). With the current emphasis on mass-market "bestsellers" and huge volumes, it's a very healthy sign that "small titles" can also find their niche. Besides, Jon's book actually is relevant to /. in a way, since the way he has handled the publication is a new way for writers to display their books. Sort of like MP3 is circumventing the big record labels, things like this might help non-bestseller authors survive. Or maybe not, but it is an interesting phenomenon.
Jon's book sounded interesting, so I ordered a copy through Amazon (haven't gotten it yet, it's coming in the same batch as Vinge's "A Deepness in the Sky", yum :). It's weird... I love high-tech toys, but on the other hand there is nothing quite like taking a backback and some camping gear and dissappearing into the backcountry for a few days with no high-tech whatsoever. If you've never tried it you should... waking up at 6am and just listening to the wind and the silence is an experience that's easy to scoff at, but quite something else when you're there yourself. I find myself fascinated by the combination of high-tech and outdoor life, and how they could work together - I live in Finland, and just about everyone is "mobile" in the data connection sense, and it's truly weird to sit at a campsite in Lapland and read your email with a Nokia Communicator. We live in a weird world:)
Some rambling thoughts from this part of the world...
