# The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay

4 Hacker News commenters recommended The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Praised as timeless political wisdom and worth reading today. One critic says it is not a reliable guide to motives behind the constitution's provisions.

## Why people recommend it

- Timeless political wisdom (1 comments): "It’s filled with timeless wisdom." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47231484))
- Astounding and worth reading (1 comments): "The Federalist Papers are astounding." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49222592))
- Relevant to current politics (1 comments): "A large number of them are more or less explicit warnings that Trump-style actions and attitudes should not be tolerated" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49485732))
- Recommended as essential reading (1 comments): "Federalist Papers. Go read them." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47274012))

## What people warn about

- Not reliable on constitutional motives (1 comments): "They are neither a reliable summary of the motivations for the provisions they support" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46638197))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes](https://hackerapproved.com/p/leviathan.md): 11 recommend
- [Capitalist Realism by Mark Fisher](https://hackerapproved.com/p/capitalist-realism.md): 7 recommend
- [The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli](https://hackerapproved.com/p/prince.md): 5 recommend
- [Politics by Aristotle](https://hackerapproved.com/p/politics.md): 3 recommend
- [The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels](https://hackerapproved.com/p/communist-manifesto.md): 3 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0511817819?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780511817816) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay", https://hackerapproved.com/p/federalist-papers/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).