Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things
Recommendations from 100 sampled comments out of 428 eligible comments. This page covers the sample, rather than the entire HN thread.
ghaff · Jan 10, 2025I'd add Soul of a New Machine about Data General
WillAdams · Jan 10, 2025Tracy Kidder's _The Soul of a New Machine_ is a classic which I would highly recommend
zooweemama · Jan 10, 2025I loved MoD!
djkivi · Jan 7, 2025Masters of Doom is quite good about John Carmack and the creation of id Software.
searine · Jan 10, 2025This was a life-changing book for me.
antisthenes · Jan 10, 2025The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes seems to fit the bill.
lnwlebjel · Jan 8, 2025The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation by Jon Gertner is similarly great
snowwrestler · Jan 9, 2025Dreaming In Code by Scott Rosenberg is a good counterpoint
jtcond13 · Jan 9, 2025Turing's Cathedral by George Dyson
asdfman123 · Jan 10, 2025The Caro books on the LBJ presidency are incredible biographies.
cpach · Jan 7, 2025You might like Founders at Work: Stories of Startups’ Early Days.
ghaff · Jan 10, 2025If we're recommending Showstopper (which I do)
js2 · Jan 10, 2025Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins Of The Internet
riffraff · Jan 10, 2025I second this recommendation of a fantastic book
abtinf · Jan 10, 2025The Box by Marc Levinson is the incredible story of the dawn of containerized shipping.