If you are interested in the (very) early history of Linux, @liw has written an article for LWN which has a subscriber-invite link so you don't have to wait for it to leave the paywall:
If you want to delve further, Rebel Code by Glyn Moody is excellent, albeit only covering up to around 2000.
The first-ever interview with Torvalds (by liw, linked from the story) is a great companion to @liw 's own perspective on events: