FREE/BARGAIN — Non-Fiction

[Little.Egret]

Originally Posted by Little.Egret

Charles River Editors, Free


David Dixon Porter: The Life and Legacy of the Distinguished Union Rear Admiral during the Civil War

Babe Ruth: The Life and Legacy of Major League Baseball’s Most Famous Player





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Tlaloc: The History of the Aztec God of Rain and Giver of Life

[badgoodDeb]

Originally Posted by sufue

I think it can be easy to have a gap in one's knowledge of history in the range of stuff that happened maybe 10 - 20 years before one hits high school or college. One was too young (or not even born) to remember events personally, and yet the events aren't historical enough to have been incorporated into standard textbooks.

For me, this period covers the events leading up to and the early years of the Vietnam War. I started noticing politics and wars and things towards the end of the war, but I was too young to remember the beginnings, and our high school history book ended shortly after the start of the Cold War.

I agree. My history classes stopped after the Civil War. I've surmised that my teachers felt WWI and WWII were not history, but current events ... for them. Though I was studying around 1970 plus and minus a few. But I've had to learn about both world wars on my own. Vietnam & Korea I haven't even started to wonder about, yet.

[Little.Egret]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

I agree. My history classes stopped after the Civil War. I've surmised that my teachers felt WWI and WWII were not history, but current events ... for them. Though I was studying around 1970 plus and minus a few. But I've had to learn about both world wars on my own. Vietnam & Korea I haven't even started to wonder about, yet.

My last high school history course (about 1961) covered 1885-1933, but this was unusual.

[Little.Egret]

Amazon UK Daily Deal


Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About The World - And Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling Ola Rosling Anna Rosling Rönnlund

99p

Here's a podcast about it

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0668k2q

The great statistician, Hans Rosling, died in February last year. Throughout his life Hans used data to explain how the world was changing – and often improving – and he would challenge people to examine their own preconceptions and ignorance. Before he became ill, Hans had started working on a book about these questions and what they reveal about the mental biases that tend to lead us astray. Tim Harford speaks to his son Ola and daughter in law Anna who worked on the book with him

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0769XK7D6/

[sufue]

I was studying around the same time, and thought it was bad that my textbook stopped at the beginning of the Cold War. But maybe I was lucky - at least I got to learn about the somewhat important WWI and WWII and even a smidge beyond. Hard to imagine a history class in the 70s (or even 60s) that wouldn't cover at least through the two WW. So much for my complaining .

I wondered also, at the time, and still do, if in that time frame, the Vietnam War was still too political vs historical. Although I know there were protests against US involvement in both World Wars too, I have the impression they were not on the same scale as the protests against the Vietnam War. So I've always sort of thought that this was our school district punting a little bit too.

Oh well...sort of off-topic by now...

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

I agree. My history classes stopped after the Civil War. I've surmised that my teachers felt WWI and WWII were not history, but current events ... for them. Though I was studying around 1970 plus and minus a few. But I've had to learn about both world wars on my own. Vietnam & Korea I haven't even started to wonder about, yet.

[Little.Egret]

Charles River Editors, Free


The Mamluks: The History and Legacy of the Medieval Slave Soldiers Who Established a Dynasty in Egypt

Native Americans in the Civil War: The History and Legacy of Various Indian Tribes’ Participation in the War Between the States





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[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by Tarana

The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone is $2.99 at Amazon, Kobo and B&N. This sale was posted on Tuesday, but I don't know for how long it will be there.



Sorry for the lack of links. My wireless mouse has failed and while I can copy and paste text, I can't seem to copy and paste the link. Laptops have their troubles.

I didn't enjoy my ARC copy of this at all, but I hope some of you do!

[Little.Egret]

Originally Posted by Little.Egret

Amazon UK Daily Deal


Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About The World - And Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling Ola Rosling Anna Rosling Rönnlund

99p

Here's a podcast about it

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0668k2q

The great statistician, Hans Rosling, died in February last year. Throughout his life Hans used data to explain how the world was changing – and often improving – and he would challenge people to examine their own preconceptions and ignorance. Before he became ill, Hans had started working on a book about these questions and what they reveal about the mental biases that tend to lead us astray. Tim Harford speaks to his son Ola and daughter in law Anna who worked on the book with him

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0769XK7D6/

Something weird happened. The Deal of the Day changed after a few hours and it and the email were very different and the price reverted.

Still the book has been 99p once before so watch it.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by Little.Egret

Something weird happened. The Deal of the Day changed after a few hours and it and the email were very different and the price reverted.

Still the book has been 99p once before so watch it.

It's because it was posted on the week following Friday the 13th.

[badgoodDeb]

Originally Posted by Tarana

The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone is $2.99 at Amazon, Kobo and B&N. This sale was posted on Tuesday, but I don't know for how long it will be there.

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

I didn't enjoy my ARC copy of this at all, but I hope some of you do!

Care to say why? I bought it, on the perceived value of the content.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

Care to say why? I bought it, on the perceived value of the content.

I'm not astrangerhere, but I didn't think it very good either. It's been a while since I read it, but the biggest flaw was the fictionalizing; it described people's actions in a fictional context that has no factual support - people smiling or tilting their heads and so forth, and, far worst of all, characterizing their thoughts. In addition, the author was prone to engage in hyperbole that got tired; the "smashed codes" of the title was done to death.

[Little.Egret]

Free


Enemy Coast Ahead: The Illustrated Memoir of Dambuster Guy Gibson
by Guy Gibson & James Holland (Introduction), Dr. Robert Owen (Contributor)

A definitive new edition of a classic memoir, published in association with the RAF Museum, complete with more than 100 photographs and notes from leading historians.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WCQRMLN/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07WCQRMLN/

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07WCQRMLN/

[sufue]

Just for fun I went back and checked Code Girls, and it also has some "context" in terms of dialogue and thoughts. The author provides an Author's Note at the beginning, though, detailing her reliance on interviews, recorded oral histories, documents, etc. And she indicates that she includes dialogue only when it was related to her by someone who was present, or included in one of the oral histories. So I would think quite possibly, the same is true of thoughts that she included - that she has an interview or an oral history where the person involved says that is what they thought? I can quite imagine someone saying "I thought he was a little crazy" in an interview, or "John smiled and said to go ahead with the plan" or things like that.

When I look at Smashed Codes, there is quite an extensive bibliography at the end, including interviews, letters, and lots of other documents. I agree that a tilted head is unlikely to come up in conversation, unless as someone's persistent mannerism, and can't say anything about the frequency of use of "smashed codes" in the text, but is is possible that there is some basis underpinning some of the other stuff? In a scholarly paper, I'd expect to see things like that footnoted, but these are not scholarly papers.

Just wondering...

Originally Posted by issybird

I'm not astrangerhere, but I didn't think it very good either. It's been a while since I read it, but the biggest flaw was the fictionalizing; it described people's actions in a fictional context that has no factual support - people smiling or tilting their heads and so forth, and, far worst of all, characterizing their thoughts. In addition, the author was prone to engage in hyperbole that got tired; the "smashed codes" of the title was done to death.

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by issybird

I'm not astrangerhere, but I didn't think it very good either. It's been a while since I read it, but the biggest flaw was the fictionalizing; it described people's actions in a fictional context that has no factual support - people smiling or tilting their heads and so forth, and, far worst of all, characterizing their thoughts. In addition, the author was prone to engage in hyperbole that got tired; the "smashed codes" of the title was done to death.

I will add that I was annoyed in the opening pages and as a thread throughout that the men in the book seemed more important than the women whose story was being told did. I felt the same way about Jill Lepore's Secret History of Wonder Woman when I read it a few years ago.

I wanted him to tell me about the women, not about the men who made their story possible.

[Little.Egret]

Charles River Editors, Free


Robert Frost: The Life and Legacy of the Famous 20th Century American Poet





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