Whole Earth Catalog
Whole Earth Catalog by Stewart Brandby Stewart Brand
Shares rank 7 of 15 reference books by recommenders
People recommend it for turning up unfamiliar tools and products, and for its useful context across editions. Critics say the online version is broken, with missing images and link rot.
People recommend it for turning up unfamiliar tools and products, and for its useful context across editions. Critics say the online version is broken, with missing images and link rot.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 4
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 67%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: 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
- 4 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 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
Surfaces unfamiliar tools and products
“I mailed off for so much weird stuff from WEC ... stuff I'd never known about before”
Comment from 6 Nov 2025 in “The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity (1987) [pdf]” Tools for strength and awareness
“these are tools for strength, awareness and thoughtful entertainment”
Comment from 5 May 2026 in “Warp Earth Catalog” Editions shown side by side
“Pretty nice to see it context, next to all the other editions.”
Comment from 5 Nov 2025 on Hacker News
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Website loads with broken content
“Site seems broken: it loads, but has no (unbroken) images or content.”
Comment from 2 Jun 2026 in “The Last Whole Earth Catalog, Catalog (2026)” Link rot in bookmark list
“nothing but a few hundred personal bookmarks with link rot”
Comment from 5 May 2026 in “Warp Earth Catalog”
Other reference books people recommend
The four most recommended other reference 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Encyclopaedia Britannicaby Jan Morris | 29 | 8 | 78% | 11 | — | Approved |
| 507 Mechanical Movementsby Henry T. Brown | 12 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| The Ashley Book of Knotsby Clifford Ashley | 8 | 1 | 89% | 4 | — | — |
| World Book Encyclopediaby World Book | 5 | 1 | 83% | 4 | — | — |
| Whole Earth Catalogby Stewart BrandThis page | 4 | 2 | 67% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
5 of the 6 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Site seems broken: it loads, but has no (unbroken) images or content.”
“nothing but a few hundred personal bookmarks with link rot”
“these are tools for strength, awareness and thoughtful entertainment”
“I mailed off for so much weird stuff from WEC ... stuff I'd never known about before”
“Pretty nice to see it context, next to all the other editions.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.