Bowling Alone
Bowling Alone by Robert Putnamby Robert Putnam
Shares rank 27 of 142 nonfiction books by recommenders
People recommend it as an in-depth look at the topic of declining social connection and community life, and as a good place to start reading on the subject.
6 people recommended Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam in Hacker News comments, 1 had mixed feelings and none criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
Summary written by Claude from 6 comments.
7 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- mixed feelings
- 1
- warn against or regret it
- 0
The record
Recommended in 5 of 12 months
In 5 different threads.
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: 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: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
- Recommended in 5 threadsNeeds 5 or more, met.
- The biggest thread supplies 33% of its recommendersNeeds half or less, met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 6 of the 7 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Explores the topic in depth
“There's a book called "Bowling Alone" that explores a lot of ideas around this.”
Comment from 18 Apr 2026 in “The quiet disappearance of the free-range childhood” “it explores this topic in depth”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “If You Build It, They Will Come” Good starting point for reading
“Fukuyama (Trust) or Putnam (Bowling Alone) might be a good place to start”
Comment from 15 Nov 2025 in “Mag Wealth (2024)” “Might want to read Bowling Alone”
Comment from 15 Jan 2026 in “Ask HN: How can we solve the loneliness epidemic?” Describes the phenomenon clearly
“I think Bowling Alone did a great job of describing the phenomena.”
Comment from 14 Oct 2026 in “Americans' social activity has steeply declined in the past 30 years”
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 | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Cuckoo's Eggby Cliff Stoll | 38 | 1 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Amusing Ourselves to Deathby Neil Postman | 30 | 5 | 0 | 100% | 9 | — | Approved |
| The Anxious Generationby Jonathan Haidt | 21 | 1 | 11 | 66% | 9 | — | — |
| Enshittificationby Cory Doctorow | 18 | 1 | 1 | 95% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Bowling Aloneby Robert PutnamThis page | 6 | 1 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
Also compared with Masters of Doom by David Kushner, Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber, Apple in China by Patrick McGee and If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies by Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares.
What people said
6 of the 7 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I think Bowling Alone did a great job of describing the phenomena.”
“he didn't explain why really”
“it explores this topic in depth”
“There's a book called "Bowling Alone" that explores a lot of ideas around this.”
“Might want to read Bowling Alone”
“Fukuyama (Trust) or Putnam (Bowling Alone) might be a good place to start”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.