Active Measures
Active Measures by Thomas Ridby Thomas Rid
Shares rank 129 of 152 nonfiction books by recommenders
People recommend it as a detailed, good starting point for understanding the subject it covers.
People recommend it as a detailed, good starting point for understanding the subject it covers.
2 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 2
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 2 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Covers the topic in detail
“Thomas Rid's "Active Measures" covers this in detail, and it's somewhat maddening to read”
Comment from 22 Jul 2026 in “Most Americans Say "Not in My Backyard" to AI Data Centers” “A great book on this is 'Active Measures'.”
Comment from 25 Aug 2026 in “Was modern art a CIA psy-op? (2020)” Helps readers understand the topic
“Read Active Measures to actually understand what is being discussed here”
Comment from 22 Jul 2026 in “Most Americans Say "Not in My Backyard" to AI Data Centers” Good starting point for newcomers
“the book Active Measures by Thomas Rid is a good place to start”
Comment from 26 Apr 2026 in “EU Age Control: The trojan horse for digital IDs”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Somewhat maddening to read
“Thomas Rid's "Active Measures" covers this in detail, and it's somewhat maddening to read”
Comment from 22 Jul 2026 in “Most Americans Say "Not in My Backyard" to AI Data Centers”
Other nonfiction books people recommend
The four most recommended other nonfiction books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Cuckoo's Eggby Clifford Stoll | 40 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Amusing Ourselves to Deathby Neil Postman | 36 | 0 | 100% | 9 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| The Anxious Generationby Jonathan Haidt | 24 | 12 | 67% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Bullshit Jobsby David Graeber | 20 | 12 | 63% | 8 | — | — |
| Active Measuresby Thomas RidThis page | 2 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“A great book on this is 'Active Measures'.”
“Read Active Measures to actually understand what is being discussed here”
“Thomas Rid's "Active Measures" covers this in detail, and it's somewhat maddening to read”
“the book Active Measures by Thomas Rid is a good place to start”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.