The best computer history books, according to hackers
9 computer history books were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 2 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
Top picks
The two most recommended computer history books with the badge. Each figure is 5 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder
59 recommend, 0 criticize, 100% approval
Ranked 1 of 9 by recommenders
Inspired engineering careers
Engineers recommend it as a vivid, honest account of a hardware project's pressures and ingenuity that shaped many careers. Some note it glorifies death-march schedules.
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The Old New Thing by Raymond Chen
31 recommend, 1 criticize, 97% approval
Ranked 2 of 9 by recommenders
Consistently solid, enjoyable articles
Fun, historically rich engineering stories about Windows and MS-DOS that explain why things work the way they do. One critic notes it is not official documentation.
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All 9 computer history books, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Soul of a New Machineby Tracy Kidder | 59 | 0 | 100% | 8 | 28 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| 2 | The Old New Thingby Raymond Chen | 31 | 1 | 97% | 12 | — | Approved |
| 3 | Accidental Empiresby Bob Cringely | 15 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| 4 | A History of Lisp | 11 | 3 | 79% | 1 | — | — |
| 5 | Turing's Cathedralby George Dyson | 10 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| 6 | The Friendly Orange Glowby Brian Dear | 7 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| 7 | Racing the Beamby Nick Montfort and Ian Bogost | 5 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| 8 | What the Dormouse Saidby John Markoff | 4 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| 9 | The Apollo Guidance Computer: Architecture and Operationby Frank O'Brien | 3 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same computer history book in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to computer history books that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.