Empire of the Summer Moon
Empire of the Summer Moon by S. C. Gwynneby S. C. Gwynne
Shares rank 38 of 51 history books by recommenders
Recommended as a fantastic historical account and a great read. One critic says it is badly regarded from the perspective of narrative history.
Recommended as a fantastic historical account and a great read. One critic says it is badly regarded from the perspective of narrative history.
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: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: 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
Fantastic historical account
“It's a fantastic account, and I'm amazed nobody has made an epic miniseries about it.”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “Teenagers Stayed Overnight at Their School and Found Hidden Ancient Roman Ruins” Recommended among great historical books
“Historical books that are great... Empire of the Summer Moon”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Poorly regarded as narrative history
“it's very badly regarded from the perspective of narrative history”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “Teenagers Stayed Overnight at Their School and Found Hidden Ancient Roman Ruins”
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 | — | — |
| Empire of the Summer Moonby S. C. GwynneThis page | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 3 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Historical books that are great... Empire of the Summer Moon”
“it's very badly regarded from the perspective of narrative history”
“It's a fantastic account, and I'm amazed nobody has made an epic miniseries about it.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.