# Masters of Doom by David Kushner

17 Hacker News commenters recommended Masters of Doom by David Kushner and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Readers recommend it as an engaging history of id Software and the rise of Carmack and Romero, with a behind-the-scenes look at 90s game development. Some stories should be taken with a grain of salt.

## Why people recommend it

- Engaging behind-the-scenes history of id Software (4 comments): "It's an interesting book though; great glimpse into trenches of 90s game development." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47370295)) "peek behind the scenes of how Carmack, Romero, and iD software built Doom" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46755309)) "Masters of Doom is a great book on the history of id software" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48545201))
- Good picture of 90s game development (3 comments): "Both Carmack and Romero have praised Masters of Doom as a good picture of what things were like" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48662966)) "It's an interesting book though; great glimpse into trenches of 90s game development." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47370295)) "peek behind the scenes of how Carmack, Romero, and iD software built Doom" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46755309))
- Dramatic, entertaining read (3 comments): "You should go read Masters of Doom where their boss wanted to rent them a house with dirt floors" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46757646)) "The Masters of Doom book was pretty good if you want a bit of drama." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50058136)) "It's such an engaging read about the rise of id Software." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47028089))

## What people warn about

- Some stories need grain of salt (1 comments): "some of the stories need to be taken with a grain of salt" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48546074))

## 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/dp/0812972155?tag=YOURTAG-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/YOURID/9780812972153) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Masters of Doom by David Kushner", https://hackerapproved.com/p/masters-of-doom/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).