# The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

3 Hacker News commenters recommended The War of Art by Steven Pressfield and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it for describing resistance accurately and for systems to handle fear of new work. One critic finds the last chapters extreme.

## Why people recommend it

- Addresses fears of new endeavors (1 comments): "It addresses the fears associated with any new endeavor and how to create systems to dance with the fears." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46346911))
- Describes resistance quite accurately (1 comments): "It describes resistance quite accurately imho." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45864637))
- Timeless material that keeps selling (1 comments): "If there was timeless material, they would continue to sell." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48565800))

## What people warn about

- Last chapters become extreme (1 comments): "I distinctly recall it becoming a bit extreme in the last chapter(s)." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45941437))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie](https://hackerapproved.com/p/how-to-win-friends-and-influence-people.md): 67 recommend
- [Atomic Habits by James Clear](https://hackerapproved.com/p/atomic-habits.md): 20 recommend
- [The Easy Way to Stop Smoking by Allen Carr](https://hackerapproved.com/p/easy-way-to-stop-smoking.md): 9 recommend
- [Feeling Good by David Burns](https://hackerapproved.com/p/feeling-good.md): 8 recommend
- [The Art of Money Getting by P.T. Barnum](https://hackerapproved.com/p/art-of-money-getting.md): 8 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0752860313?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780752860312) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The War of Art by Steven Pressfield", https://hackerapproved.com/p/war-of-art/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).