The Wizard and the Prophet
The Wizard and the Prophet by Charles C. Mannby Charles C. Mann
Shares rank 51 of 152 nonfiction books by recommenders
People recommend it as a readable account of Norman Borlaug and the green revolution, framing the debate between technological innovation and its critics as a useful duality.
People recommend it as a readable account of Norman Borlaug and the green revolution, framing the debate between technological innovation and its critics as a useful duality.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: 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: recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 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
Readable account of Borlaug
“the book The Wizard and The Prophet is pretty good reading on Borlaug and the green revolution”
Comment from 5 Dec 2025 in “Kenyan court declares law banning seed sharing unconstitutional” “The fantastic Charles C. Mann wrote an excellent book, The Wizard and the Prophet, about it.”
Comment from 26 Jan 2026 in “Water 'Bankruptcy' Era Has Begun for Billions, Scientists Say” Frames wizards versus prophets debate
“In this book, a wizard is someone who approaches a problem with technological innovation.”
Comment from 26 May 2026 in “Magnifica Humanitas (Encyclical Letter)” “sets up an interesting duality that I think more people should be aware of”
Comment from 31 Dec 2025 in “Efficient method to capture CO2 from the atmosphere / Univ of Helsinki”
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 Cliff 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 | — | — |
| The Wizard and the Prophetby Charles C. MannThis page | 5 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
All 6 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“A good story that touches on this is the Wizard and the Prophet”
“I like how the book describes the Wizards tackling world famine through GMO's.”
“In this book, a wizard is someone who approaches a problem with technological innovation.”
“The fantastic Charles C. Mann wrote an excellent book, The Wizard and the Prophet, about it.”
“sets up an interesting duality that I think more people should be aware of”
“the book The Wizard and The Prophet is pretty good reading on Borlaug and the green revolution”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.