The best education books, according to hackers
4 education books were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 1 earns the Hacker Approved badge.
Top pick
The most recommended education book with the badge. Each figure is one person. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler
12 recommend, 1 criticize, 92% approval
Ranked 1 of 4 by recommenders
Practical reading tips and tricks
Recommended as a practical guide to reading nonfiction and getting more out of books, with some readers finding it repetitive and less useful for certain types of books.
We may earn a commission. It never changes the order.
We may earn a commission. It never changes the order.
All 4 education 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 | How to Read a Bookby Mortimer J. Adler | 12 | 1 | 92% | 4 | — | Approved |
| 2 | Mindstormsby Seymour Papert | 7 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 3 | Make It Stickby Peter C. Brown and Henry L. Roediger and Mark A. McDaniel | 2 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 3 | The Underground History of American Educationby John Taylor Gatto and Richard Grove and David Rodriguez and David Ruenzel and Dr. Ron Paul and JOHN TAYLOR GATTO | 2 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
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 education book in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to education 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.