# The Unix-Haters Handbook by Garfinkel, Weise and Strassmann

8 Hacker News commenters recommended The Unix-Haters Handbook by Garfinkel, Weise and Strassmann and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as a sharp, memorable critique of Unix design that has stayed with some readers for years. One critic dismisses it as biased, and another says it does not go far enough.

## Why people recommend it

- Lasting lessons from reading it (1 comments): "I read the unix-hater's handbook about 15 years ago and it taught me a LOT, maybe even changed my life." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46523081))
- Sound critique of Unix problems (1 comments): "UHH is obviously sound but doesn't go far enough in criticizing the unix disaster." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45935996))
- Explains Unix design flaws in depth (1 comments): "there's a whole chapter in the UNIX-HATERS Handbook explaining why" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46866010))

## What people warn about

- Dismissed as biased and sour (1 comments): "But that book is a waste. It is just MIT dunning-krugerites who were salty that LISP machines never took off." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46871717))
- Does not criticize Unix far enough (1 comments): "UHH is obviously sound but doesn't go far enough in criticizing the unix disaster." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45935996))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Garbage Collection Handbook by Jones, Hosking and Moss](https://hackerapproved.com/p/garbage-collection-handbook.md): 16 recommend
- [Beej's Guide to Learning Computer Science by Brian Hall](https://hackerapproved.com/p/beej-s-guide-to-learning-computer-science.md): 15 recommend
- [Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software by Charles Petzold](https://hackerapproved.com/p/code-the-hidden-language-of-computer-hardware-and-software.md): 12 recommend
- [Code by Charles Petzold](https://hackerapproved.com/p/code.md): 7 recommend
- [The Annotated Turing by Charles Petzold](https://hackerapproved.com/p/annotated-turing.md): 5 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1568842031?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9781568842035) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Unix-Haters Handbook by Garfinkel, Weise and Strassmann", https://hackerapproved.com/p/unix-haters-handbook/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).