What's the Matter with Kansas?
What's the Matter with Kansas? by Thomas Frankby Thomas Frank
Shares rank 2 of 5 political science books by recommenders
People recommend it as an interesting, if frustrating, account of why working-class voters back policies against their economic interests, with Kansas as the case study.
People recommend it as an interesting, if frustrating, account of why working-class voters back policies against their economic interests, with Kansas as the case study.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 4
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 80%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: 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
- 4 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, 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
Interesting, frustrating look at Kansas politics
“explores some of this, but centered around Kansas. Pretty interesting (and frustrating) stuff.”
Comment from 20 Nov 2025 in “CBP is monitoring US drivers and detaining those with suspicious travel patterns” “Pretty interesting (and frustrating) stuff.”
Comment from 22 Nov 2025 in “In a U.S. First, New Mexico Opens Doors to Free Child Care for All” Covers the topic at length
“that discusses this topic at length”
Comment from 22 Jan 2026 in “Significant US Farm Losses Persist, Despite Federal Assistance” Quite good despite repetition
“While a bit repetitive (because history) the book is quite good.”
Comment from 27 Jan 2026 in “Amazon to Shut Down All Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh Stores”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Repetitive in places
“While a bit repetitive (because history) the book is quite good.”
Comment from 27 Jan 2026 in “Amazon to Shut Down All Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh Stores” Assumes an objective definition of self-interest
“this framing assumes there is an objective definition of self interest”
Comment from 23 Jan 2026 in “Significant US Farm Losses Persist, Despite Federal Assistance”
Other political science books people recommend
The four most recommended other political science 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 Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policyby Mearsheimer and Walt | 5 | 1 | 83% | 6 | — | — |
| What's the Matter with Kansas?by Thomas FrankThis page | 4 | 1 | 80% | 4 | — | — |
| The Dictator's Handbookby Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith | 4 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| The Logic of Political Survivalby Bruce Bueno de Mesquita | 4 | 1 | 80% | 3 | — | — |
| Network Propagandaby Yochai Benkler, Robert Faris and Hal Roberts | 2 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | — |
What people said
5 of the 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“While a bit repetitive (because history) the book is quite good.”
“this framing assumes there is an objective definition of self interest”
“that discusses this topic at length”
“Pretty interesting (and frustrating) stuff.”
“explores some of this, but centered around Kansas. Pretty interesting (and frustrating) stuff.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.