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Liftoff

Liftoff by Eric Berger

by Eric Berger

Shares rank 36 of 152 nonfiction books by recommenders

People recommend Liftoff for explaining the early history of SpaceX and the reasons behind its decisions, often read alongside its sequel Reentry. No critical comments were recorded.

People recommend Liftoff for explaining the early history of SpaceX and the reasons behind its decisions, often read alongside its sequel Reentry. No critical comments were recorded.

6 people gave an opinion

recommend it
6
criticize it
0
approval share
100%
Each figure is one person. RecommendsCriticizes

Recommended in 6 of 13 months

  1. November 2025: not recommended
  2. December 2025: not recommended
  3. January 2026: not recommended
  4. February 2026: recommended
  5. March 2026: not recommended
  6. April 2026: recommended
  7. May 2026: not recommended
  8. June 2026: not recommended
  9. July 2026: recommended
  10. August 2026: recommended
  11. September 2026: recommended
  12. October 2026: recommended
  13. November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)

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 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, 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

  • Explains the reasons behind SpaceX decisions

    “If you want to know the why’s I suggest reading Eric Berger’s two books Liftoff and Reentry.”

    Comment from 8 Jul 2026 in “The space bit of SpaceX is worth $8 a share, says Morgan Stanley”
  • Read together with sequel Reentry

    “If you want to know the why’s I suggest reading Eric Berger’s two books Liftoff and Reentry.”

    Comment from 8 Jul 2026 in “The space bit of SpaceX is worth $8 a share, says Morgan Stanley”

    “you can also read liftoff and re-entry by eric berger”

    Comment from 19 Sep 2026 in “How SpaceX streamlined the Raptor engine”

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.

Liftoff by Eric Berger compared with 4 alternatives
ProductRecommendCriticizeApprovalMonthsOwnedBadge
The Cuckoo's Eggby Clifford Stoll400100%8—Approved
Amusing Ourselves to Deathby Neil Postman360100%91 yr3 ownersApproved
The Anxious Generationby Jonathan Haidt241267%10—Approved
Bullshit Jobsby David Graeber201263%8——
Liftoffby Eric BergerThis page60100%6——
See all 152 nonfiction books, ranked

What people said

4 of the 6 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.

“you can get some flying skills before you actually control something irl”

RecommendsComment from 20 Oct 2026 in “I built a drone with only one motor [video]”

“you can also read liftoff and re-entry by eric berger”

RecommendsComment from 19 Sep 2026 in “How SpaceX streamlined the Raptor engine”

“which has translated pretty well to the actual drone”

RecommendsComment from 7 Aug 2026 in “Learning to fly FPV drones with AI flight coach”

“If you want to know the why’s I suggest reading Eric Berger’s two books Liftoff and Reentry.”

RecommendsComment from 8 Jul 2026 in “The space bit of SpaceX is worth $8 a share, says Morgan Stanley”

Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.