# Martin Eden by Jack London

3 Hacker News commenters recommended Martin Eden by Jack London and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as a favorite Jack London novel, preferred over The Iron Heel. One critic found the type in this print-on-demand edition hard to read.

## Why people recommend it

- Preferred over The Iron Heel (1 comments): "I prefer "Martin Eden" and "the Iron Heel"" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46742360))

## What people warn about

- Type in this edition is hard to read (1 comments): "this looks like crap, but above all, the type is making me dizzy" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47386158))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://hackerapproved.com/p/crime-and-punishment.md): 39 recommend
- [The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://hackerapproved.com/p/brothers-karamazov.md): 28 recommend
- [Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace](https://hackerapproved.com/p/infinite-jest.md): 26 recommend
- [The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://hackerapproved.com/p/great-gatsby.md): 24 recommend
- [Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand](https://hackerapproved.com/p/atlas-shrugged.md): 23 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0553212125?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780553212129) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Martin Eden by Jack London", https://hackerapproved.com/p/martin-eden/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).