# Peopleware by Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister

5 Hacker News commenters recommended Peopleware by Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as a rare management book built on measured outputs, with ideas about teams and workspaces that still hold up decades later. Critics say parts are too optimistic and some advice is wrong.

## Why people recommend it

- Still relevant despite age (2 comments): "a VERY GOOD book about software development written in the 80s" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49036119)) "Peopleware[0] taught us this in 1987 already." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46133731))

## What people warn about

- Too optimistic, feel-good tone (1 comments): "It is such feel good fairy tale, that actually harms the reader." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49267836))
- Not everything is correct (1 comments): "I guess Peopleware couldn't get every single thing right." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46305380))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Unaccountability Machine by Dan Davies](https://hackerapproved.com/p/unaccountability-machine.md): 11 recommend
- [Turn the Ship Around! by L. David Marquet](https://hackerapproved.com/p/turn-the-ship-around.md): 10 recommend
- [Shape Up by Ryan Singer](https://hackerapproved.com/p/shape-up.md): 6 recommend
- [Team Topologies by Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais](https://hackerapproved.com/p/team-topologies.md): 5 recommend
- [Army Leadership by US Army](https://hackerapproved.com/p/us-army-leadership-doctrine.md): 5 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0932633439?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780932633439) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Peopleware by Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister", https://hackerapproved.com/p/peopleware/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).