Against the Grain
Against the Grain by James C. Scottby James C. Scott
Shares rank 38 of 51 history books by recommenders
People recommend it for its look at early states and their repeated failures, and for its solid archaeology coverage.
People recommend it for its look at early states and their repeated failures, and for its solid archaeology coverage.
3 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 2 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: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 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 early states and their failures
“Against the Grain by James C Scott focuses on early states and their semi-regular failures”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “A lost ancient script reveals how writing as we know it began” Good archaeology coverage
“James C. Scott's Against the Grain covers the archeology nicely.”
Comment from 21 Jul 2026 in “New US homeownership measure puts people first” Amazing, enjoyable read
“Against the Grain was amazing though.”
Comment from 28 Jul 2026 in “New US homeownership measure puts people first”
Other history books people recommend
The four most recommended other history 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 Dawn of Everythingby David Graeber and David Wengrow | 23 | 5 | 82% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Cadillac Desertby Marc Reisner | 18 | 0 | 100% | 11 | — | Approved |
| The Boxby Marc Levinson | 16 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Sapiensby Yuval Noah Harari | 13 | 9 | 59% | 8 | — | — |
| Against the Grainby James C. ScottThis page | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 3 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Against the Grain was amazing though.”
“James C. Scott's Against the Grain covers the archeology nicely.”
“Against the Grain by James C Scott focuses on early states and their semi-regular failures”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.