FREE/BARGAIN - Non-Fiction - 2014

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by mitford13

. . . .
Pacific Fury by Peter Thompson

http://www.amazon.com/Pacific-Fury-P...dp/B004T6E47Q/

How Australia and her allies defeated the Japanese. Pearl Harbor; The Fall of Si . . . .

Awesome bargain find! Thanks for posting it.

I love WW2 history; I like WW2 books. However, my ebook budget usually is shot from buying books on a couple of topics that I like even better. But for 36 cents, it would be a "no-brainer" not to grab this one!

[avantman42]

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

Golly, so this author thinks that WWII was a four year war for the Europeans ..... if they've got that fact wrong I can't understand how the book ever got published!

Well, the Soviets were the ones that took Berlin, and their war started in 1941, so I'd guess that's what the blurb means by "the four-year war in the European Theater". If that is what is meant, it's very badly worded.

[murg]

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

Golly, so this author thinks that WWII was a four year war for the Europeans ..... if they've got that fact wrong I can't understand how the book ever got published!

Yeah, but they were four loooong years...

[Little.Egret]

Originally Posted by avantman42

Well, the Soviets were the ones that took Berlin, and their war started in 1941, so I'd guess that's what the blurb means by "the four-year war in the European Theater". If that is what is meant, it's very badly worded.

It's traditional.

The Chinese think WW2 began in 1937 (Nanking) and the US in 1941.

[Lynx-lynx]

You mean it's traditional to get the facts wrong. Mmm ....

[Apache]

WWII started when WWI ended and the Peace Treaties were signed.
Apache

[avantman42]

Originally Posted by Little.Egret

It's traditional.

The Chinese think WW2 began in 1937 (Nanking) and the US in 1941.

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

You mean it's traditional to get the facts wrong. Mmm ....

People frequently over-emphasise their own country's contribution to things, and minimise or forget contributions by others, so I suppose it could be said to be traditional, but that doesn't make them right.

[scottken]

Most of the formal Declarations of War happened in 1941. Wikipedia lays out the messy history of the war's starts and undeclared invasions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declara...g_World_War_II

[Lynx-lynx]

WWII commenced when the UK and France declared war on Germany in 1939.

So if an author/book states any different than that, or seems to think that WWII started whenever their country formally declared its entry then they are wrong.

If they want to discuss their countries entry, or the entry of any particular country to WWII then they need to state that.

WWII began in 1939 and ceased in 1945, and to suggest otherwise is historically inaccurate.

[GtrsRGr8]

Cruiser: The Life And Loss Of HMAS Perth And Her Crew. By Mike Carlton. 5 stars from 18 reviews at the present moment. Print list price $29.95; digital list price $17.85; Kindle price now $0.36. Random House Australia, publisher. 720 pages. http://www.amazon.com/Cruiser-Life-L...h+And+Her+Crew.

Book Description
The definitive biography of the Australian cruiser HMAS Perth, and the brave men who sailed with her.Of all the Australians who fought in the Second World War, none saw more action nor endured so much of its hardship and horror as the crew of the cruiser HMAS Perth. Most were young - many were still teenagers - from cities and towns, villages and farms across the nation. In three tumultuous years they did battle with the forces of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, the Vichy French and, finally, the Imperial Japanese Navy. They were nearly lost in a hurricane in the Atlantic. In the Mediterranean in 1941 they were bombed by the Luftwaffe and the Italian Air Force for months on end until, ultimately, during the disastrous evacuation of the Australian army from Crete, their ship took a direct hit and thirteen men were killed. After the fall of Singapore in 1942, HMAS Perth was hurled into the forlorn campaign to stem the Japanese advance towards Australia. Off the coast of Java in March that year she met an overwhelming enemy naval force. Firing until her ammunition literally ran out, she was sunk with the loss of 353 of her crew, including her much-loved captain and the Royal Australian Navy's finest fighting sailor, 'Hardover' Hec Waller. Another 328 men were taken into Japanese captivity, most to become slave labourers in the infinite hell of the Burma-Thai railway. Many died there, victims of unspeakable atrocity. Only 218 men, less than a third of her crew, survived to return home at war's end. Cruiser, by journalist and broadcaster Mike Carlton, is their story. And the story of those who loved them and waited for them.

[GtrsRGr8]

Batavia. By Peter Fitzsimmons. Rated 4 stars, from 94 reviews at the present moment. Print list price $29.95; digital list price $31.25; Kindle price now $0.63. Random House Australia, publisher. 512 pages. http://www.amazon.com/Batavia-Peter-...ywords=batavia.

The Whispersync companion is $6.49. The regular price is above $14.95, so it qualifies as a purchase in the current Buy 4, Get $10 Audible promotion.

Book Description
Batavia is the greatest story in Australia's history and history comes to life with Peter Fitzsimons.The Shipwreck of the Batavia combines in just the one tale the birth of the world's first corporation, the brutality of colonisation, the battle of good vs evil, the derring-do of sea-faring adventure, mutiny, ship-wreck, love, lust, blood-lust, petty fascist dictatorship, criminality, a reign of terror, murders most foul, sexual slavery, natural nobility, survival, retribution, rescue, first contact with native peoples and so much more. Described by author Peter FitzSimons as "a true Adults Only version of Lord of the Flies, meeting Nightmare on Elm Street," the story is set in 1629, when the pride of the Dutch East India Company, the Batavia, is on its maiden voyage en route from Amsterdam to the Dutch East Indies, laden down with the greatest treasure to leave Holland. The magnificent ship is already boiling over with a mutinous plot that is just about to break into the open when, just off the coast of Western Australia, it strikes an unseen reef in the middle of the night. While Commandeur Francisco Pelsaert decides to take the long-boat across 2000 miles of open sea for help, his second-in-command Jeronimus Cornelisz takes over, quickly deciding that 250 people on a small island is unwieldy for the small number of supplies they have. Quietly, he puts forward a plan to 40 odd mutineers how they could save themselves, kill most of the rest and spare only a half-dozen or so women, including his personal fancy, Lucretia Jansz - one of the noted beauties of Holland - to service their sexual needs. A reign of terror begins, countered only by a previously anonymous soldier Wiebbe Hayes, who begins to gather to him those are prepared to do what it takes to survive . . . hoping against hope that the Commandeur will soon be coming back to them with the rescue yacht. It all happened, long ago, and it is for a very good reason that Peter FitzSimons has long maintained that this is "far and away the greatest story in Australia's history, if not the world's." FitzSimons unique writing style has made him the country's best-selling non-fiction writer over the last ten years, and he is perfect man to make this bloody, chilling, stunning tale come alive.

[pendragginp]

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

WWII commenced when the UK and France declared war on Germany in 1939.

So if an author/book states any different than that, or seems to think that WWII started whenever their country formally declared its entry then they are wrong.

If they want to discuss their countries entry, or the entry of any particular country to WWII then they need to state that.

WWII began in 1939 and ceased in 1945, and to suggest otherwise is historically inaccurate.

This is so.

[Lynx-lynx]

I might note that none of those very cheap Random House Australia books mentioned above are at this special price in Aus outlets, eg Amazon or Kobo.

They are only available in countries like India US CA and I think the UK as well as probably others.

I know I got mine from Kobo US (only because I forgot to check out if India had them as well.

[GtrsRGr8]

You may know that the Pomodoro Technique is a well-known, highly-regarded time management system.

I know, almost none of us like pdfs; but hey, the ebook's free! To give you an idea of how much money that you will save with this pdf freebie, the Amazon Kindle/mobi version is $12.60.

Pomodoro Technique Illustrated: The Easy Way to Do More in Less Time. By Staffan Noteberg. Rated 4 stars, from 57 reviews, at Amazon. PDF $0.00. The Pragmatic Bookshelf, publisher. 153 pages. Direct link: http://xudafeng.github.io/Tomato/Pom...llustrated.pdf.

Book Description (from Amazon)
Do you ever look at the clock and wonder where the day went? You spent all this time at work and didn't come close to getting everything done. Tomorrow try something new. Use the Pomodoro Technique to work in focused sprints throughout the day. In Pomodoro Technique Illustrated, Staffan Noteberg shows you how to organize your work to accomplish more in less time. There's no need for expensive software or fancy planners. You can get started with nothing more than a piece of paper, a pencil, and a kitchen timer.

You have so much you need to accomplish today. Your list is a mile long and you find yourself getting interrupted every other minute. You'd like to tell everyone to leave you alone, but most of the interruptions are coming from you! You think of a phone call you need to make or a web site you need to check and before you know it you're answering email, checking twitter, and finding a million other things to occupy your time.

You need to focus---really focus.

The Pomodoro Technique puts you back in charge of your day. You'll apply successful techniques from software engineering to identify what you should be doing today and to help you achieve your goals. Your mind won't wander when it is fully engaged in short bursts of focused activity.

Learn to work less and accomplish more using nothing more than paper, pencil, and a simple kitchen timer.

Set the timer and start on your next Pomodoro. When the bell rings take a break. This personal approach to timeboxing is at the core of the Pomodoro technique and this book is filled with advice on how get started and how to tailor it to your own needs.

[GtrsRGr8]

When I saw the name of the author of this book, Charles Van Doren, I definitely remembered hearing the name. But, I just couldn't remember where I heard the name or what from. Then, as I was looking at other books at Amazon that Doren (or would it be "Van Doren"?) had written, I found out. This guy co-authored with Mortimer Adler the magisterial classic How to Read a Book! That pretty much made up my mind to buy this ebook, for myself.

The book covers authors beginning with Homer (that's Homer the Greek poet, not Homer Simpson) and runs to the modern times (no later than 2008, when the edition was published).

Sure, you could get the list of authors from the book's table of contents and read the Wikipedia entries for each of them. You would sorta cover what the book covers. But for just $2.99 for this book, would it be worth all of the trouble? I thought not.

The Joy of Reading: A Passionate Guide to 189 of the World's Best Authors and Their Works. By Charles Van Doren. Rated 4 stars, but from only 4 reviews at the present moment. Print list price $24.95; digital list price $24.95; Kindle price now $2.99. Sourcebooks, publisher. 549 pages. http://www.amazon.com/Joy-Reading-Pa...nd+Their+Works.

Book Description
This engaging love letter to reading follows the great authors and classics that transformed the world: from Aristotle and Herodotus in ancient Greece to Salinger and Heinlein in 20th century America. Like a professor whose enthusiasm enwraps his students, Van Doren explains what's wonderful in the books you've missed and awakens your desire to reopen the books you already know.

Divided chronologically by the periods in which these classics were written, each book is put in its historical context and brought to life by Van Doren's brilliant analysis. The Joy of Reading delves into a wide range of genres-fiction, poetry, drama, children's books, philosophy, history and science. This is the one book that brings together everything you need to know about the classics you missed and ignites your passion to read and reread the greatest books the world has ever known.

This book is the fruit of a lifelong love affair. Reading, I believe, is my favorite thing to do; books and I have been inseparable almost as long as I can remember ... To this day, I become distressed if I am anywhere without a book, a magazine, a newspaper, any scrap of paper to read .... I like the smell of books, certainly the feel of them. Life without books would be, for me, a vacant horror."