# Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant

8 Hacker News commenters recommended Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as a readable history of the Luddite movement and the workers who resisted industrial automation. No critics recorded.

## Why people recommend it

- Clear history of the Luddite movement (3 comments): "For rethinking the Luddite movement I recommend the book Blood in the Machine" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49674609)) "a fascinating book called Blood In The Machine about the Luddites" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47964157)) "is a good overall history of the Luddite movement" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46191693))
- Shows workers' reactions to automation (2 comments): "Read "Blood in the Machine" if you want to see what happened to the losers of the industrial revolution." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47706162)) "If anyone is curious about automation and people's/worker's reaction to it, I recommend" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46059086))
- Enjoyable with pertinent examples (2 comments): "I really enjoyed Merchant's book" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47867784)) "Has some pertinent examples." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48123277))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow](https://hackerapproved.com/p/dawn-of-everything.md): 23 recommend
- [Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cadillac-desert.md): 18 recommend
- [The Box by Marc Levinson](https://hackerapproved.com/p/box.md): 16 recommend
- [Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sapiens.md): 13 recommend
- [Chip War by Chris Miller](https://hackerapproved.com/p/chip-war.md): 13 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1549199897?tag=YOURTAG-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/YOURID/9781549199899) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant", https://hackerapproved.com/p/blood-in-the-machine/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).