FREE/BARGAIN - Non-Fiction - 2014

[AnemicOak]

Life in the Valley of Death: The Fight to Save Tigers in a Land of Guns, Gold, and Greed by Alan Rabinowitz

Free at Amazon US and Google, not free at B&N or Kobo as of now. Also free at Amazon CA

Dubbed the Indiana Jones of wildlife science by The New York Times, Alan Rabinowitz has devoted—and risked—his life to protect nature’s great endangered mammals. He has journeyed to the remote corners of the earth in search of wild things, weathering treacherous terrain, plane crashes, and hostile governments. Life in the Valley of Death recounts his most ambitious and dangerous adventure yet: the creation of the world’s largest tiger preserve.

The tale is set in the lush Hukaung Valley of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. An escape route for refugees fleeing the Japanese army during World War II, this rugged stretch of land claimed the lives of thousands of children, women, and soldiers. Today it is home to one of the largest tiger populations outside of India—a population threatened by rampant poaching and the recent encroachment of gold prospectors.

To save the remaining tigers, Rabinowitz must navigate not only an unforgiving landscape, but the tangled web of politics in Myanmar. Faced with a military dictatorship, an insurgent army, tribes once infamous for taking the heads of their enemies, and villagers living on less than one U.S. dollar per day, the scientist and adventurer most comfortable with animals is thrust into a diplomatic minefield. As he works to balance the interests of disparate factions and endangered wildlife, his own life is threatened by an incurable disease.

The resulting story is one of destruction and loss, but also renewal. In forests reviled as the valley of death, Rabinowitz finds new life for himself, for communities haunted by poverty and violence, and for the tigers he vowed to protect.

[ATDrake]

^

Cool, thanks for this! I've been kind of curious about Myanmar's difficult political situation with regards to the work of NGO aid organizations ever since reading Guy Delisle's cartoon travelogue The Burma Chronicles and the science/nature conservation aspect is a bonus.

[Froide]

This month's freebie from the University of Chicago Press:

It’s a midterm election and the airwaves are filled with nasty attack ads. Aren’t they a blot on our politics? John G. Geer takes a contrarian view in our free e-book for October, In Defense of Negativity: Attack Ads in Presidential Campaigns .

"Geer has set out to challenge the widely held belief that attack ads and negative campaigns are destroying democracy. Quite the opposite, he argues in his provocative new book: Negativity is good for you and for the political system. … In Defense of Negativity adds a new argument to the debate about America’s polarized politics, and in doing so it asserts that voters are less bothered by today’s partisan climate than many believe. If there are problems—and there are—Geer says it’s time to stop blaming it all on 30-second spots.”—Dan Balz, Washington Post

Get the e-book edition of In Defense of Negativity free in October! For more contrarian fun, see Geer’s Attack Ad Hall of Fame, his picks of the best—or the worst.

[GtrsRGr8]

I ran across an ebook site today called Forgotten Books (http://www.forgottenbooks.com). I had run across it before, years ago, but had forgotten it (no pun intended. ha). I am not very familiar with Scribd, but it looks like Forgotten Books is mainly a subscription service along the lines of Scribd.

In case you're wondering, yes, the site has been mentioned before on Mobileread. However, I noticed that Forgotten Books seems to have made a lot of changes, and they're big ones, since even the last post about it, to where it is almost unrecognizable as the same outfit now.

If you don't have anything against subscription services (I personally don't care for them), you might want to check it out and see what you think. The service is $8.99/month. They offer a 7-day free trial. They say that they have 400,000 some-odd books available, and you can download (for keeps) as many as you want if you are a "member" (i.e., subscriber).

As far as I can tell, all of the books have reading (with Forgotten Books' proprietary web-based app) and/or download (pdf and pdf optimized for Kindle) options to the PC or Mac; there is also an option to download to your smart phone or other ereader. Before trying to read or download these books you should be aware that Forgotten Books does not provide all of the pages of those books to you if you are a non-subscriber; i.e., some of the pages will be missing (sort of like the previews that Amazon offers of the dead-tree (paper) books that they sell).

It looks like most of the books, by far, are in the public domain. You probably can get most of them free also from the Gutenberg Project (http://www.gutenberg.org), the Internet Archive (http://archive.org), Google Books (http://books.google.com/books), et al. However, not all of the books are in the public domain! For example, I found two good Bible commentaries, from a series called The Layman's Bible Commentary, which were published in the 1960's.

Also, Forgotten Books provides to subscribers several really cool features that you can't get at those other websites. I am a line art junkie--I love the old line art images that are found in a lot of the books published before the printing of photographs in books became more common. Forgotten Books has an image search feature with which you can search through all of the images (there are millions of them, and not just line art, but photographs, and others) extracted from all of their books!

Now, none of the above was what I primarily made this post for. I made this post primarily to let you know that Forgotten Books will send you one free what they call "premium" book per day, via email, if you get an account with them. Forgotten Books provides all of the pages of these books to those with accounts. Folks, that is 365-366 per year! Wow!

You do not have to be a subscriber to get an account and the account is free. It is a little bit difficult to find information on their website about how to get an account, but if you will click the thumbnail of any book that you see, you should get a dialogue box telling you how to join.

Based upon their past free books of the day, they send books from both non-fiction and fiction categories, and from a large variety of genres.

[Little.Egret]

Mantovani: A Lifetime in Music by Colin Mackenzie

This book is a celebration of the life and times in music of one of the most popular light orchestral conductors of all time. Annunzio Paolo Mantovani, was the biggest selling British record artist, before the Beatles and was the most respected man with a unique ability and attracted enormous
appeal from people all around the world.
For Mantovani fans, this book is the ultimate read, it takes you through his life with all you could ever want to know about this genius of orchestral music.

For lovers of light orchestral music, you will love the stories behind the most successful composer and conductor and, on hearing his music (follow the links included) you will, too, see why Mantovani and His Orchestra sold, literally, millions upon millions of records. This 24 chapter book tells the story of Mantovani's quest for musical perfection and how he achieved it. Written with the enthusiastic endorsement of his family, his record producer, several former musicians, Decca luminaries and Mantovani fans, this is the `real deal', a book that `no Mantovani fan or anyone interested in light orchestral music can afford to be without'. Mantovani - A Lifetime In Music, tells his story as it has never been told before, getting behind the legend to examine:
His childhood
His views on music
His success as a dance band leader in the 1930s
His theatre activities with Noel Coward and Lupino Lane
Charmaine and Ronnie Binge
His phenomenal success in the 1950s when he became Britains' top record seller
His American and British tours, his recording and film work.
The `Mantovani Sound' became famous in the 1950s and is still listened to today by lovers of his music across the globe.

This is the world of Mantovani, welcome aboard.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NWYGWNK/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00NWYGWNK/
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00NWYGWNK/

[AnemicOak]

Deals in the US, not sure about elsewhere...


Underworld London: Crime and Punishment in the Capital City by Catharine Arnold - $1.99
Amazon US | Kobo | B&N | Google | eBooks.com

Beginning with an atmospheric account of Tyburn, we are set up for a grisly excursion through London as a city of ne'er do wells, taking in beheadings and brutality at the Tower, Elizabethan street crime, cutpurses and con-men, through to the Gordon Riots and Highway robbery of the 18th century and the rise of prisons, the police and the Victorian era of incarceration.

As well as the crimes, Arnold also looks at the grotesque punishments meted out to those who transgressed the law throughout London's history - from the hangings, drawings and quarterings at Tyburn over 500 years to being boiled in oil at Smithfield. This popular historian also investigates the influence of London's criminal classes on the literature of the 19th and 20th centuries, and ends up with our old favourites, the Krays and Soho gangs of the 50s and 60s.

London's crimes have changed over the centuries, both in method and execution. Underworld London traces these developments, from the highway robberies of the eighteenth century, made possible by the constant traffic of wealthy merchants in and out of the city, to the beatings, slashings and poisonings of the Victorian era.

Necropolis: London and Its Dead by Catharine Arnold - $1.99
Amazon US | Kobo | B&N | Google | eBooks.com

From Roman burial rites to the horrors of the plague, from the founding of the great Victorian cemeteries to the development of cremation and the current approach of metropolitan society towards death and bereavement -- including more recent trends to displays of collective grief and the cult of mourning, such as that surrounding the death of Diana, Princess of Wales -- NECROPOLIS: LONDON AND ITS DEAD offers a vivid historical narrative of this great city's attitude to going the way of all flesh.
As layer upon layer of London soil reveals burials from pre-historic and medieval times, the city is revealed as one giant grave, filled with the remains of previous eras -- pagan, Roman, medieval, Victorian. This fascinating blend of archaeology, architecture and anecdote includes such phenomena as the rise of the undertaking trade and the pageantry of state funerals; public executions and bodysnatching.

Ghoulishly entertaining and full of fascinating nuggets of information, Necropolis leaves no headstone unturned in its exploration of our changing attitudes to the deceased among us. Both anecdotal history and cultural commentary, Necropolis will take its place alongside classics of the city such as Peter Ackroyd's LONDON.

[Section8]

Thank you for those grim "London" books. I actually like books like this & they're appropriate for this time of year.

[Little.Egret]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Deals in the US, not sure about elsewhere...

Underworld London: Crime and Punishment in the Capital City by Catharine Arnold - £4.99
Amazon UK |

Different ASIN same publisher.

Necropolis: London and Its Dead by Catharine Arnold [/B]

No UK Kindle edition.

[Froide]

Originally Posted by Little.Egret

Underworld London: Crime and Punishment in the Capital City by Catharine Arnold - £4.99
Amazon UK |

Different ASIN same publisher.

Necropolis: London and Its Dead by Catharine Arnold [/B]

No UK Kindle edition.

Currently US$1.89 at Amazon.com

[Froide]

Pay-to-Play Think Tanks: Institutional Corruption and the Industry of Ideas
by Ken Silverstein

Free at:

• Amazon.com
• BN.com

Overview:

When people talk about corruption undermining American democracy, they usually have in mind our broken campaign finance system or the outsized power of corporate lobbyists. What’s less noted, but no less important, is institutional corruption at Washington think tanks. In this compelling investigative monograph, Ken Silverstein uncovers the rise of a pay-to-play ethos at these institutions.

While think tanks are generally deemed to be independent and scholarly, Silverstein lays out how nowadays many can effectively serve as unregistered lobbyists for their major donors. And unlike lobbyists and members of Congress, think tanks are not subject to financial disclosure requirements, so they reveal their contributors only if they choose to. Silverstein traces this increasingly murky world, showing how corporations and other big donors use think tanks to advance their political agendas and financial interests.

Bio:

Ken Silverstein is an investigative reporter based in Washington, DC. He has been a Fellow at the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University and at Open Society Foundations. He served as Washington Editor of Harper’s Magazine from 2006 to 2010. Previously on the staff of the Los Angeles Times, Silverstein has also written for Mother Jones, Wallpaper, Washington Monthly, The Nation, Slate, Salon, and many other publications. He is the author of a number of books, including The Secret World of Oil and The Radioactive Boy Scout. This monograph was produced as part of his Investigative Journalist Lab Fellowship at the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics (http://www.ethics.harvard.edu)

[ATDrake]

Free again from small press start-up Stay Thirsty Media via KDP Select @ Amazon:

Toussaint! by theatre critic David Toussaint (Wikipedia), a collection of his columns written for EDGE magazine between 2006-2009, plus a few new stories and essays (some of them apparently LGBT lifestyle pieces, if I'm reading the intro correctly).

David Toussaint takes you on a journey through the center of "his" earth in TOUSSAINT! Satirical and sentimental, biting and bold, Toussaint combines pop culture, the political landscape, a dazzling array of divas, and his own self-indulgent past in ways few authors have ever attempted. Once you stop laughing at the writer's self-deprecation twinged with Chelsea Boy narcissism, you'll recognize an undercurrent of all-too familiar pain. His articles are "…melodies in my head, verses, some short, some long, some happy and some sad. While at times they touch on the world, at other times they are completely fictitious, except to me. Some are documentaries, some are the stuff of nonsense. All of them have been told before. The choruses change and the hook is different, but the rhythms come from the very same place.”

Also free again from small press start-up Stay Thirsty Media via KDP Select @ Amazon:

Hot Little Mama: The Flossie Turner Lewis Story by Flossie Turner Lewis & Paula Meseroll, an autobiography of a second-generation African-American musical performer from the 1930s-1970s.

LITTLE HOT MAMA – The Flossie Turner Lewis Story is about a woman of strength, a single mother who raised five children, a black entertainer who performed on the carnival and chitlin circuits, in speakeasies and minstrel shows, and in the swank nightclubs of Miami’s Overtown where the Turner Family shared venues with other greats of the day. From the Deep South to Miami, Puerto Rico, and Los Angeles, Flossie lived her life as a performer, a mother, and a woman who could neither read nor write. That was until she decided at the age of 65 to learn how.

Flossie’s story of personal courage, tenacity, and strong values propels the reader through eras of discrimination, broken families, and the itinerant lifestyle of a traveling black entertainment family during and after the Depression. It is both a time capsule of an America seldom written about and a testament to one woman’s triumph over adversity, poverty, and illiteracy.

FLOSSIE TURNER LEWIS began delighting audiences with songs and dances when she was just two years old in 1935. Known by her stage name “Little Hot Mama,” she was the child of black show business stars Hot Papa and Dolly Turner. Flossie, along with her sister LuLu B. and brother Junior, traveled with their parents and performed as the Turner Family Revue. Her own show business career lasted for more than 40 years.

[GtrsRGr8]

Adolf Hitler: The Definitive Biography. By John Toland. Rated 4 1/2 stars from 110 reviews. Print list price $27.00; Kindle price now $2.99. 1120 pages! Anchor, publisher. http://www.amazon.com/Adolf-Hitler-D...tive+biography.

Description
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian John Toland’s classic, definitive biography of Adolf Hitler remains the most thorough, readable, accessible, and, as much as possible, objective account of the life of a man whose evil affect on the world in the twentieth century will always be felt.

Toland’s research provided one of the final opportunities for a historian to conduct personal interviews with over two hundred individuals intimately associated with Hitler. At a certain distance yet still with access to many of the people who enabled and who opposed the führer and his Third Reich, Toland strove to treat this life as if Hitler lived and died a hundred years before instead of within his own memory. From childhood and obscurity to his desperate end, Adolf Hitler emerges , in Toland’s words, "far more complex and contradictory . . . obsessed by his dream of cleansing Europe Jews . . . a hybrid of Prometheus and Lucifer."

[Little.Egret]

Legends of Ancient China (Vol. 1) by Duan Wang

If you liked Judge Dee you might like this. There is also a Volume 2, not free

This volume contains seven carefully selected stories covering events from over two thousand years ago. Fan Sui, a prominent politician from an ordinary family, survived an unjust death penalty and pursued his legendary vengeance; Yan Ying, one of the smartest politicians in Chinese history, demonstrated his exceptional talents in both domestic and foreign affairs; Ximen Bao, a famous governor of the state of Wei, found an intelligent way to punish those who destroyed the lives of local families; Lin Xiang-ru, the Chief Chancellor of the state of Zhao, showed extraordinary bravery and endurance to the benefit of his country; Wu Yun, also known as Wu Zixu, a legend who survived from great challenges and eventually avenged his family after a long period of preparation; Sun Wu, the most famous military strategist from ancient China who wrote the book "The Art of War"; and Goujian, the young King of the State of Yue, went through a series of unthinkable humiliations and waited more than ten years before finally achieving his goals.

Some of the stories in this book present the readers with historical events from which a series of well-known Chinese idioms originated (many of which are still in use today). For example: "Perfect return of the Jade of Zhao", "Sleeping in hay stacks and tasting bile", "The hound is cooked when there is nothing to hunt for, the general is killed once the enemy is eliminated".

The stories happened in the historical periods of China called Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, spanning from 770 to 221 B.C.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007UV4GFM/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007UV4GFM/
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B007UV4GFM/

[avantman42]

The Road to Culloden Moor: Bonnie Prince Charlie and the 1745 Rebellion

How and more importantly why did Charles Edward, the Young Pretender, and his failed campaign of 1745, find such an enduring place in our popular memory.

How did a half-Polish prince, born in Rome, and speaking English with an Italian accent, become the Bonnie Prince Charlie of ballad, poem and song?

Charles was helped by his outstanding good looks and his presence and personal magnetism.

He had inherited a legend that had begun in 1688 when his grandfather, James II, fled to France. He had an unshakeable belief in his right to the Crown and his ability to repossess it. Brought up in a court of Jacobite exiles, his earliest memories were stories of the throne that, he considered, was rightfully his.

‘The Road to Culloden Moor’ explores two phases in Charles’ life. Firstly, the series of dazzling successes that took Charles within striking distance of London, but which culminated in the disaster of Culloden, the last battle fought on English soil.

Secondly - his escape after Culloden and his flight into the Highlands - the period which has fixed him so firmly into our collective consciousness.

From the victories to the defeats Diana Preston recounts Charles’s journey with historical accuracy and excitement.

'… the story of `Charlies's year' is accomplished with verve and zest.' - The Times Literary Supplement

‘Preston has a good story to tell and she tells it well … Preston’s portrait of a man whose life ended in total failure does set you thinking’ - Daily Telegraph

Diana Preston is a historian, writer and broadcaster. She is the author of the acclaimed; ‘A First Rate Tragedy: Robert Falcon Scott and the Race to the South Pole’, ‘Besieged in Peking: The Story of the 1900 Boxer Rising’, ‘Cleopatra and Antony’ and ‘Before the Fall-Out. The Human Chain Reaction from Marie Curie to Hiroshima’. With her husband Michael, she has co-authored ‘A Pirate of Exquisite Mind’ and ‘A Teardrop on the Cheek of Time’. She lives in London.

Free at Amazon.com and Amazon UK

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by avantman42

The Road to Culloden Moor: Bonnie Prince Charlie and the 1745 Rebellion

Free at Amazon.com and Amazon UK

Thanks for your post.

For the benefit of others: this book is non-fiction (yes, I know that that is what you have come to expect in a non-fiction thread. ha).

I ran across this title yesterday and passed up on it. I don't like fiction. The description, for one thing, made me think that it was a fictional work. Too, being the unsophisticated bumpkin that I am, I was not familiar with the historical events that the title of the book alluded to (I must have been dozing in the class of the history course in school when that was covered. ha), and so thought that it was "made up." Your post caused me to look at it again, and to get a great deal (it's hard to beat free!) on what seems to be a good book, on a period of time that I am almost completely unfamiliar with.