# Active Measures by Thomas Rid

2 Hacker News commenters recommended Active Measures by Thomas Rid and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as a detailed, good starting point for understanding the subject it covers.

## Why people recommend it

- Covers the topic in detail (2 comments): "Thomas Rid's "Active Measures" covers this in detail, and it's somewhat maddening to read" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49009247)) "A great book on this is 'Active Measures'." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49441236))
- Helps readers understand the topic (1 comments): "Read Active Measures to actually understand what is being discussed here" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49011566))
- Good starting point for newcomers (1 comments): "the book Active Measures by Thomas Rid is a good place to start" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47911392))

## What people warn about

- Somewhat maddening to read (1 comments): "Thomas Rid's "Active Measures" covers this in detail, and it's somewhat maddening to read" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49009247))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Cuckoo's Egg by Cliff Stoll](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cuckoo-s-egg.md): 40 recommend
- [Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/amusing-ourselves-to-death.md): 36 recommend
- [The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt](https://hackerapproved.com/p/anxious-generation.md): 24 recommend
- [Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber](https://hackerapproved.com/p/bullshit-jobs.md): 20 recommend
- [Enshittification by Cory Doctorow](https://hackerapproved.com/p/enshittification.md): 19 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1250787408?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9781250787408) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Active Measures by Thomas Rid", https://hackerapproved.com/p/active-measures/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).