Evolution requires Berkeley DB-3.1.17. The details on "why" are in the README file distibuted with the Evolution source code. Evolution links to the library statically, hence this book installs the Berkeley DB-3.1.17 in /opt, which can be removed once Evolution is installed. Install Berkeley DB-3.1.17 by running the following commands: cd build_unix && ../dist/configure --prefix=/opt/db-3.1.17 --enable-compat185 && make && make install Install Evolution by running the following commands: ./configure --prefix=$GNOME_PREFIX --with-db3=/opt/db-3.1.17 --enable-openssl && make && make install Optionally, you may remove Berkeley DB-3.1.17 installed above with this command: rm -rf /opt/db-3.1.17