# The Autodesk File by John Walker

3 Hacker News commenters recommended The Autodesk File by John Walker and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as an interesting read on Autodesk's early years, and not the usual founder-genius startup memoir.

## Why people recommend it

- Not the usual founder-genius memoir (2 comments): "it's not the usual “just so” kind of startup memoir that tries to explain how success was preordained by the founder’s genius" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45791511)) "an interesting read because it’s not the usual “just so” kind of startup memoir" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45791705))
- Interesting account of early Autodesk years (2 comments): "an interesting read because it’s not the usual “just so” kind of startup memoir" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45791705)) "wrote/edited and interesting book on the early years" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47593477))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams](https://hackerapproved.com/p/careless-people.md): 106 recommend
- [Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl](https://hackerapproved.com/p/man-s-search-for-meaning.md): 13 recommend
- [Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard Feynman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/surely-you-re-joking-mr-feynman.md): 11 recommend
- [Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell](https://hackerapproved.com/p/down-and-out-in-paris-and-london.md): 9 recommend
- [Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain](https://hackerapproved.com/p/kitchen-confidential.md): 9 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0934035636?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780934035637) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Autodesk File by John Walker", https://hackerapproved.com/p/autodesk-file/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).