FREE/BARGAIN — Non-Fiction

[sufue]

Virginia Cowles was, per Wikipedia, an American journalist, biographer, and travel writer who reported on the Spanish Civil War and World War II (and the events leading up to WWII). Although she was American, the British government awarded her an OBE in 1947 for her reporting. So, when I noticed two of her books on sale for $0.99/£0.99 at Kindle US/UK, I figured I'd give them a try - or at least buy them and put them relatively high on my TBR list...

The Astors is the first of three "Dynasties" books she wrote - the others are on the Rothschilds and the Romanovs.
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B5PRD4K
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07B5PRD4K
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07B5PRD4K
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07B5PRD4K

The Great Swindle: A History of the South Sea Bubble
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FLP9P42
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07FLP9P42
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07FLP9P42
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07FLP9P42

They are also KU if you have a subscription...

[salty-horse]

Sid Meier's Memoir!: A Life in Computer Games by Sid Meier is $2.99 on Amazon.com

This is a memoir by Sid Meier, designer of many strategy computer games, notably Civilization and Sid Meier's Pirates!

[Critteranne]

Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin is just $2.99!

It's on Amazon and probably elsewhere as well.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Critteranne

Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin is just $2.99!

It's on Amazon and probably elsewhere as well.

I recommend this, FWIW.

[ReadingManiac]

Originally Posted by issybird

The Betrayal of the Duchess: The Scandal That Unmade the Bourbon Monarchy and Made France Modern by Maurice Samuels is on sale at Kindle for $4.99 which might not seem cheap, but it’s a 75% discount off the regular price of $19.99. And it gets a 50¢ Great on Kindle credit while existing ones will knock down the price a bit more.

It’s an account of the Duchesse de Berry’s attempt to restore the Bourbon monarchy and of antisemitism in 19th century France as well. I found it both fascinating and illuminating and I highly recommend it.

This sounds interesting!

[salty-horse]

The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal, and Trial by Combat by Eric Jager is $2.99 on Amazon.com

The gripping true story of the duel to end all duels in medieval France as a resolute knight defends his wife's honor against the man she accuses of a heinous crime

In the midst of the devastating Hundred Years' War between France and England, Jean de Carrouges, a Norman knight fresh from combat in Scotland, returns home to yet another deadly threat. His wife, Marguerite, has accused squire Jacques Le Gris of rape. A deadlocked court decrees a trial by combat between the two men that will also leave Marguerite's fate in the balance. For if her husband loses the duel, she will be put to death as a false accuser.

While enemy troops pillage the land, and rebellion and plague threaten the lives of all, Carrouges and Le Gris meet in full armor on a walled field in Paris. What follows is the final duel ever authorized by the Parlement of Paris, a fierce fight with lance, sword, and dagger before a massive crowd that includes the teenage King Charles VI, during which both combatants are wounded -- but only one fatally.

Based on extensive research in Normandy and Paris, The Last Duel brings to life a colorful, turbulent age and three unforgettable characters caught in a fatal triangle of crime, scandal, and revenge. The Last Duel is at once a moving human drama, a captivating true crime story, and an engrossing work of historical intrigue with themes that echo powerfully centuries later.

[sufue]

How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them by Barbara F. Walter is $2.99 today as part of today's US Kindle Daily Deal, and price matched at Kobo US. Here are links to a couple of reviews of the book, one generally positive from the New York Times, and one that is less so, from The Economist.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095MMDWBR
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B095MMDWBR
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/how-civil-wars-start

Spoiler:

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A leading political scientist examines the dramatic rise in violent extremism around the globe and sounds the alarm on the increasing likelihood of a second civil war in the United States

“Required reading for anyone invested in preserving our 246-year experiment in self-government.”—The New York Times Book Review

Political violence rips apart several towns in southwest Texas. A far-right militia plots to kidnap the governor of Michigan and try her for treason. An armed mob of Trump supporters and conspiracy theorists storms the U.S. Capitol. Are these isolated incidents? Or is this the start of something bigger? Barbara F. Walter has spent her career studying civil conflict in places like Iraq, Ukraine, and Sri Lanka, but now she has become increasingly worried about her own country.

Perhaps surprisingly, both autocracies and healthy democracies are largely immune from civil war; it’s the countries in the middle ground that are most vulnerable. And this is where more and more countries, including the United States, are finding themselves today.

Over the last two decades, the number of active civil wars around the world has almost doubled. Walter reveals the warning signs—where wars tend to start, who initiates them, what triggers them—and why some countries tip over into conflict while others remain stable. Drawing on the latest international research and lessons from over twenty countries, Walter identifies the crucial risk factors, from democratic backsliding to factionalization and the politics of resentment. A civil war today won’t look like America in the 1860s, Russia in the 1920s, or Spain in the 1930s. It will begin with sporadic acts of violence and terror, accelerated by social media. It will sneak up on us and leave us wondering how we could have been so blind.

In this urgent and insightful book, Walter redefines civil war for a new age, providing the framework we need to confront the danger we now face—and the knowledge to stop it before it’s too late.

Praise for How Civil Wars Start

“It turns out that there is a discipline that you might call ‘civilwarology’—the study of the factors that lead to civil war. . . . Barbara F. Walter became a civilwarologist nearly a quarter of a century ago and her entry is evidently well-thumbed in the Rolodexes of the CIA and the U.S. State Department. In other words, she knows what she’s talking about—which makes this book rather scary.”—The Times (U.K.)

[salty-horse]

SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard is $2.99 on Amazon.com

In SPQR, an instant classic, Mary Beard narrates the history of Rome "with passion and without technical jargon" and demonstrates how "a slightly shabby Iron Age village" rose to become the "undisputed hegemon of the Mediterranean" (Wall Street Journal). Hailed by critics as animating "the grand sweep and the intimate details that bring the distant past vividly to life" (Economist) in a way that makes "your hair stand on end" (Christian Science Monitor) and spanning nearly a thousand years of history, this "highly informative, highly readable" (Dallas Morning News) work examines not just how we think of ancient Rome but challenges the comfortable historical perspectives that have existed for centuries. With its nuanced attention to class, democratic struggles, and the lives of entire groups of people omitted from the historical narrative for centuries, SPQR will to shape our view of Roman history for decades to come.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard is $2.99 on Amazon.com

I highly recommend this book.

If you would like an easy fix for the over 300 (often egregious) errors in the X-ray for the book, see this thread:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=303347

[sufue]

The Great Game: On Secret Service in High Asia is the first of Peter Hopkirk's books that I read, and really enjoyed. It has dropped to £2.99 at Kindle UK. I've since gone on to read most of his books, and many of them are inexpensive in the UK -> if you're interested, this previous post has a list and links, although a couple of the prices may have changed a bit. A couple of his books are available in the US as well, and links are also in that post.

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003Y3BLNK
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003Y3BLNK

Spoiler:

For nearly a century the two most powerful nations on earth, Victorian Britain and Tsarist Russia, fought a secret war in the lonely passes and deserts of Central Asia. Those engaged in this shadowy struggle called it 'The Great Game', a phrase immortalized by Kipling.

When play first began the two rival empires lay nearly 2,000 miles apart. By the end, some Russian outposts were within 20 miles of India. This classic book tells the story of the Great Game through the exploits of the young officers, both British and Russian, who risked their lives playing it. Disguised as holy men or native horse-traders, they mapped secret passes, gathered intelligence and sought the allegiance of powerful khans. Some never returned. The violent repercussions of the Great Game are still convulsing Central Asia today.

[gunbad]

Robert Matzen has six books on sale for $1.99 at Amazon and Kobo. These are nonfiction books about some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. I have read two of them, “Fireball” is about Carole Lombard’s life and her tragic death on a lonely Nevada mountain top. “Errol Flynn Slept Here” is about the history of the house that Flynn built and lived in during the Golden Era of Hollywood.

Since enjoying his work I have been waiting patiently for the others to go on sale. It’s a rare treat for me to have all six on sale at the same time. What’s even better is to beat Amazon’s $1.99 price by buying from Kobo. If you have vip membership the price is $1.79. It gets better, the partners22 code worked for me at KoboUs site. Buying each book individually the price is $1.07.

I know that this is starting to sound like a commercial but really the only connection I have to the author is being a fan. “Fireball”, It’s a book that has stayed in my memory since I read it in 2015.

KoboUs

[Little.Egret]

Seven Alistair Moffat books about historical Scotland and the border.

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=s9_...d_i=5400977031

[sufue]

Not just one, but three interesting-looking non-fiction books (interesting looking to me at least ) in today's US Kindle Daily Deal. Just what I need - more books in my TBR pile.

Octopus: The Ocean's Intelligent Invertebrate: A Natural History by Roland C. Anderson is $2.99. I've always liked octopuses starting with my days as a volunteer docent at our local aquarium, where the curators would "work" with the octopuses to provide them with little puzzles, like putting their food in rinsed out peanut butter jars, and watching the octopuses figure out how to open the screw tops, and then also learn/remember how to do it faster in the future. And also from watching them while scuba diving.
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D38IZ1C
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00D38IZ1C

The True History of Merlin the Magician by Anne Lawrence-Mathers is also $2.99. The title sounds as if it could be a little woo-woo, but the author is a professor of medieval history at the University of Reading, and the blurb sounds pretty interesting. And it's published by Yale University Press, and there's probably not too much woo-woo in their books .
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009NCO2IW
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B009NCO2IW

The Planets: Photographs from the Archives of NASA by Nirmala Nataraj, also $2.99. This one I'm debating about a little bit, because there are lots of NASA photographs in the public domain/online. But the first chapter in the sample, which has a lot of pictures of Mercury, is pretty interesting, and it might be worth the $2.99 for the additional info/descriptions. And also just to have had someone else sort through and pick out the "good pics". I don't know how well these would show up on an e-reader, but on my PC the pics look really nice! Choices, choices...
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073LLMYHK
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B073LLMYHK

[sufue]

Carry On: Reflections for a New Generation by John Lewis is part of today's US Kindle Daily Deal, priced at $2.99, and matched at Kobo US.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08WLR4GC2
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08WLR4GC2
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/carry-on-35

Spoiler:

A brilliant and empowering collection of final reflections and words of wisdom from venerable civil rights champion, the late Congressman John Lewis at the end of his remarkable life.

Congressman John Lewis was a paragon of the Civil Rights Movement and political leadership for decades. A hero we won't soon forget, Lewis was a beacon of hope and a model of humility whose invocation to "good trouble" continues to inspire millions across our nation. In his last months on earth, even while battling cancer, he dedicated time to share his memories, beliefs, and advice—exclusively immortalized in these pages—as a message to the generations to come.

Organized by topic ranging from justice, courage, faith, mentorship, and forgiveness to the protests and the pandemic, and many more besides, Carry On collects the late Congressman's thoughts for readers to draw on whenever they are in need of guidance. John Lewis had great confidence in our future, even as he died in the midst of one of our country's most challenging years to date. With this book, he performs that crucial passing of the baton, empowering us to live up to the legacy he has left us with his perseverance, dedication, profound insight, and unwavering ability to see the good in life.

[Paperbackstash]

Originally Posted by gunbad

Robert Matzen has six books on sale for $1.99 at Amazon and Kobo. These are nonfiction books about some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. I have read two of them, “Fireball” is about Carole Lombard’s life and her tragic death on a lonely Nevada mountain top. “Errol Flynn Slept Here” is about the history of the house that Flynn built and lived in during the Golden Era of Hollywood.

Since enjoying his work I have been waiting patiently for the others to go on sale. It’s a rare treat for me to have all six on sale at the same time. What’s even better is to beat Amazon’s $1.99 price by buying from Kobo. If you have vip membership the price is $1.79. It gets better, the partners22 code worked for me at KoboUs site. Buying each book individually the price is $1.07.

I know that this is starting to sound like a commercial but really the only connection I have to the author is being a fan. “Fireball”, It’s a book that has stayed in my memory since I read it in 2015.

KoboUs

Interesting.
The sale is still good.
Almost got the Jimmy Stewart one but was iffy. Have his bio to read already

I did pick up Fireball and Dutch Girl