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Paul Graham's Hackers and Painters is $9.49 on O'Reilly's deal of the day.

41 points| nickcharlton | 15 years ago |oreilly.com | reply

22 comments

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[+] draz|15 years ago|reply
can anyone speak of the value of getting a 6-7 year old technology-related book (aside from reminiscing about this and that)? Are readers of HN really the audience for this book (people who, at least in theory, are do-ers, go getters, etc)? I'm asking not to be the villan of this post, but simply because I haven't read the book and am wondering whether it's worth the read. So, input is appreciated!
[+] ianl|15 years ago|reply
Its more general wisdom from his eassys on his website. I find it timeless. I go back and read it every two or three years and enjoy it thoroughly.
[+] yesno|15 years ago|reply
The content of the book came from his essays (posted on his website).

Whether it is worth or not, it depends on how you define worth.

I used to buy the hype cycle out of recommended books by "the internet" (reddit, HN, blogs, etc), for example: the tipping point, wisdom of the crowd, paradox of less, this book, get things done, etc.

But then I figured out that I want to (and should) do my own thing, not to follow someone else's lead.

I sold mine last month and am now trying to get rid the other books as well.

Keep in mind that while it is 6 years old, most of the content are "concepts" of various topics from startups, competition, hackers/recruiting, etc.

[+] gsivil|15 years ago|reply
This book is not about technologies that tend to fade away fast, and it would becoming irrelevant in a few years. It is mostly about the idea of hacking, connections of this let's call it state of mind to other activities. This book has a number of what is known as PG essays. One of the almost timeless of those about the language for the next hundred years is there.

[EDIT: reading that book brought me here. Never regretted that]

[+] nkassis|15 years ago|reply
Most of the content is timeless I believe, mostly philosophical ideas. A lot of it is the same as what can be found in Paul Graham's essays on his website but I think the book is a good read nonetheless. I've read it about 2 times by now (when I found it around 05-06, and just this year) and would recommend it.
[+] barnaby|15 years ago|reply
It's a good book. Your library probably has it for free (SF library does, and the waiting list for it generally isn't too bad).
[+] coreyrecvlohe|15 years ago|reply
Excellent text, eloquent argument that takes to task the modern notion of entrepreneurship and what it means for today's innovators.

I really enjoyed reading the parts that called on developers to challenge old players in new markets; inspiring stuff.

[+] thedjpetersen|15 years ago|reply
Just finished this book a few weeks ago. It was very interesting, especially the chapter on wealth, where he introduces that wealth does not equal money, but rather wealth equals something that people want.
[+] foljs|15 years ago|reply
It's worth every discount!