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+<sect1 id="pre-audience">
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+<title>Audience</title>
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+<?dbhtml filename="audience.html" dir="preface"?>
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+
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+<sect2>
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+<title>Who would want to read this book</title>
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+
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+<para>There are many reasons why somebody would want to read this book. The
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+principle reason being to install an Linux system straight from the source
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+code. A question many people raise is "Why go through all the hassle of
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+manually building a Linux system from scratch when you can just download and
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+install an existing one?". That is a good question and is the impetus for this
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+section of the book.</para>
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+
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+<para>One important reason for LFS' existence is to help people learn how a
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+Linux system works from the inside out. Building a LFS system helps demonstrate
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+to you what makes Linux tick, how things work together and depend on each
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+other. One of the best things that this learning experience provides in the
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+ability to customize Linux to your own tastes and needs.</para>
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+
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+<para>A key benefit of LFS is that you have more control of your system
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+without relying on someone else's Linux implementation. With LFS, you are
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+in the driver's seat and dictate every aspect of your system, such as the
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+directory layout and bootscript setup. You also dictate where, why and how
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+programs are installed.</para>
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+
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+<para>Another benefit of LFS is the ability to create a very compact Linux
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+system. When installing a regular distribution, you are usually forced to
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+install several programs which you are likely never to use. They're just
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+sitting there wasting precious disk space (or worse, CPU cycles). It isn't
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+difficult to build a LFS system less than 100 MB. Does that still sound like a
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+lot? A few of us have been working on creating a very small embedded LFS
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+system. We successfully built a system that was just enough to run the Apache
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+web server with approximately 8MB of disk space used. Further stripping could
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+bring that down to 5 MB or less. Try that with a regular distribution.</para>
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+
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+<para>We could compare distributed Linux to a hamburger you buy at a
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+fast-food restaurant -- you have no idea what you are eating. LFS, on the
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+other hand, doesn't give you a hamburger, but the recipe to make a hamburger.
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+This allows you to review it, to omit unwanted ingredients, and to
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+add your own ingredients which enhance the flavor of your burger. When you
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+are satisfied with the recipe, you go on to preparing it. You make it just
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+the way you like it: broil it, bake it, deep-fry it, barbecue it, or eat it
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+tar-tar (raw).</para>
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+
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+<para>Another analogy that we can use is that of comparing LFS with a
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+finished house. LFS will give you the skeletal plan of a house, but it's up
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+to you to build it. You have the freedom to adjust your plans as you
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+go.</para>
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+
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+<para>One last advantage of a custom built Linux system is security.
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+By compiling the entire system from source code, you are empowered to audit
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+everything and apply all the security patches you feel are needed. You don't
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+have to wait for somebody else to compile binary packages that fix a security
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+hole. Unless you examine the patch and implement it yourself you have no
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+guarantee that the new binary package was built correctly and actually fixes the
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+problem (adequately).</para>
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+
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+<para>There are too many good reasons to build your own LFS system for them all
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+to be listed here. This section is only the tip of the iceberg. As you
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+continue in your LFS experience, you will find on your own the power that
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+information and knowledge truly bring.</para>
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+
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+</sect2>
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+
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+<sect2>
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+<title>Who would not want to read this book</title>
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+
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+<para>There are probably some, for whatever reason, would feel that they do not
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+want to read this book. If you do not wish to build your own Linux system from
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+scratch, then you probably don't want to read this book. Our goal is to help
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+you build a complete and usable foundation-level system. If you only want to
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+know what happens while your computer boots, then we recommend the <quote>From
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+Power Up To Bash Prompt</quote> HOWTO. The HOWTO builds a bare system which is
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+similar to that of this book, but it focuses strictly on creating a system
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+capable of booting to a BASH prompt.</para>
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+
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+<para>While you decide which to read, consider your objective. If you wish
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+to build a Linux system while learning a bit along the way, then this book
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+is probably your best choice. If your objective is strictly educational and
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+you do not have any plans for your finished system, then the
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+<quote>From Power Up To Bash Prompt</quote> HOWTO is probably a better choice.</para>
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+
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+<para>The <quote>From Power Up To Bash Prompt</quote> HOWTO is located at
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+<ulink url="http://axiom.anu.edu.au/~okeefe/p2b/"/> or on The Linux
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+Documentation Project's website at <ulink url="http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/From-
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+PowerUp-To-Bash-Prompt-HOWTO.html"/>.</para>
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+
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+</sect2>
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+
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+</sect1>
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James Robertson