Plunder: Private Equity's Plan to Pillage America
Plunder: Private Equity's Plan to Pillage America by Brendan Ballouby Brendan Ballou
Shares rank 91 of 152 nonfiction books by recommenders
A reader highly recommends it; the most common caveat is a painfully repetitive third act.
A reader highly recommends it; the most common caveat is a painfully repetitive third act.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 60%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not 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
Highly recommended by a reader
“I highly recommend this book”
Comment from 4 May 2026 in “GameStop makes $55.5B takeover offer for eBay”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Third act is painfully repetitive
“skip the third act, which is painfully repetitive”
Comment from 4 May 2026 in “GameStop makes $55.5B takeover offer for eBay” Title is unfortunate
“This book got a unfortunate title.”
Comment from 4 May 2026 in “GameStop makes $55.5B takeover offer for eBay”
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.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Cuckoo's Eggby Clifford Stoll | 40 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Amusing Ourselves to Deathby Neil Postman | 36 | 0 | 100% | 9 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| The Anxious Generationby Jonathan Haidt | 24 | 12 | 67% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Bullshit Jobsby David Graeber | 20 | 12 | 63% | 8 | — | — |
| Plunder: Private Equity's Plan to Pillage Americaby Brendan BallouThis page | 3 | 2 | 60% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
3 of the 5 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“skip the third act, which is painfully repetitive”
“This book got a unfortunate title.”
“I highly recommend this book”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.