# The Maintenance of Everything by Stewart Brand

10 Hacker News commenters recommended The Maintenance of Everything by Stewart Brand and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend it for its compelling case for maintenance and its history of engineering and service, and for its pleasant physical design.

## Why people recommend it

- Engineering and service history (2 comments): "You would probably like this chapter about the "rightness" struggle between engineering and service at Xerox." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50054782)) "It's fascinating — especially the early chapter(s) about the approaches of Henry Royce of Rolls-Royce" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46725751))
- Compelling case for maintenance (2 comments): "One of my favorite pieces of writing on this topic" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48675448)) "Stewart makes a compelling case for it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46699032))
- Pleasant physical design and cover (2 comments): "The books are also physically really pleasant to hold and look at." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46700702)) "The cover art is such a master stroke." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46700903))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Cuckoo's Egg by Cliff Stoll](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cuckoo-s-egg.md): 40 recommend
- [Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/amusing-ourselves-to-death.md): 36 recommend
- [The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt](https://hackerapproved.com/p/anxious-generation.md): 24 recommend
- [Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber](https://hackerapproved.com/p/bullshit-jobs.md): 20 recommend
- [Enshittification by Cory Doctorow](https://hackerapproved.com/p/enshittification.md): 19 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=The+Maintenance+of+Everything+by+Stewart+Brand&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Maintenance of Everything by Stewart Brand", https://hackerapproved.com/p/maintenance-of-everything-part-one/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).