FREE/BARGAIN — Non-Fiction

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

Thanks for both pieces of information. The first piece was especially helpful, and I'm going to navigate to that webpage and bookmark it just as soon as I get through with this message.
<snip>

I just checked the webpage out. I was completely unaware that it existed. Each month or so TGC lets me know of sales on about 75 courses; I had assumed that that was all that there were on sale, and that everyone on their mailing list got only information on the same sale; everything else was for sale only at their (very, very, very expensive) retail prices.

Having said that, however, the best possible prices on their products are 1) the smattering of sales, every now and then, on a few of them, by Audible, and 2) TGC's Employee Pricing minus 50% sales, in that order. I think that the sale prices on the courses on the webpage that you gave must be the sum total of all of the sale prices that different people get on about 75 different courses about once a month according to some algorithm or such like that TGC uses.

[Little.Egret]

Charles River Editors, free

The Diadochi: The History of Alexander the Great’s Successors and the Wars that Divided His Empire

The Aborigines and Maori: The History of the Indigenous Peoples in Australia and New Zealand

William Lloyd Garrison and Horace Greeley: The Lives and Careers of the Civil War Era’s Most Famous Publishers

The War Crimes Trials for World War II: The History and Legacy of Nazi Germany and Japan’s War Crimes Trials After the War


https://www.amazon.com/s/?url=search...+river+editors

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?url=sear...+river+editors

https://www.amazon.ca/s/?url=search-...+river+editors

[GtrsRGr8]

I'm a history buff. However, I've got to admit that the subject of this book is one that I am all but completely ignorant about.

Japan is half a world away from where all, or almost all, of the land fighting occurred (there were naval conflicts in the Atlantic Ocean (primarily), however), which is Europe. What possible connection could Japan have had with the "Great War" (World War I)?

About the only connection that I can think of is that in the Russo-Japanese War, not very long before World War I, Japan devastated the Russian naval fleet. That, in large part, led Russia to sue for peace. A weakened Russia, not very many years later, was a belligerent in World War I. Yes, that is a very tenuous connection.

I'm sure that this present Palgrave Macmillan daily deal book will greatly enlighten us on the question.

It's been a while since I posted a PM daily deal (BTW--PM recently admitted what we already knew--they actually don't post a new deal every day; however, they still call it a "daily deal"). Reason being: I haven't seen any of their "daily deals," lately, that have caught my attention. Today's is different.

The price information . . . . the ebook is only $9.99; the listprice [sic] is $69.99. That's a savings of a marvelous 86% (but pretty typical of these PM deals). Amazon has the book priced at $67.97.

I think that the ebook is available only in ePub. However, it is DRM-free.

This book is a festschrift--a collection of articles or chapters by several different individuals, rather than the typical book written by one person, with the cooperation of maybe one or two other, people. The editors of this present tome are Antony Best and Oliviero Frattholillo.

Being an academic-type book (as have been all of the PM Daily Deals, that I have seen, at least), ratings are scarce. I suggest that you avail yourself of the free preview accessible at the PM webpage for the book, and/or at Amazon and/or Google, in order to judge for yourself the quality of this offering.

[Little.Egret]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

I'm a history buff. However, I've got to admit that the subject of this book is one that I am all but completely ignorant about.

Japan is half a world away from where all, or almost all, of the land fighting occurred (there were naval conflicts in the Atlantic Ocean (primarily), however), which is Europe. What possible connection could Japan have had with the "Great War" (World War I)?

About the only connection that I can think of is that in the Russo-Japanese War, not very long before World War I, Japan devastated the Russian naval fleet. That, in large part, led Russia to sue for peace. A weakened Russia, not very many years later, was a belligerent in World War I. Yes, that is a very tenuous connection.

I'm sure that this present Palgrave Macmillan daily deal book will greatly enlighten us on the question.

I can save you even more money (in 1961 I did School 'O' level history 1885-1933)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-...liance#Effects

Nevertheless, the nature of the Anglo-Japanese alliance meant that France was unable to come to Russia's aid in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 as this would have meant going to war with Britain.


The alliance's provisions for mutual defence prompted Japan to enter the First World War on the British side. Japan attacked the German base at Tsingtao in 1914 and forced the Germans to surrender (see Siege of Tsingtao). Japanese officers aboard British warships were casualties at the Battle of Jutland in 1916.[5] In 1917, Japanese warships were sent to the Mediterranean and assisted in the protection of allied shipping near Malta from U-boat attacks. A memorial at the Kalkara Naval Cemetery in Malta is dedicated to the 72 Japanese sailors who died in the conflict.[6] The Treaty also made possible the Japanese seizure of German possessions in the Pacific north of the equator during the First World War, a huge boon to Japan's imperial interests.

Players of Diplomacy will be aware that Austria-Hungary had battleships as of course had Imperial Germany.

Thus In WW1 Britain was at war with /two/ naval powers so Japan was obliged to help.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by Little.Egret

I can save you even more money (in 1961 I did School 'O' level history 1885-1933)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-...liance#Effects

Nevertheless, the nature of the Anglo-Japanese alliance meant that France was unable to come to Russia's aid in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 as this would have meant going to war with Britain.


The alliance's provisions for mutual defence prompted Japan to enter the First World War on the British side. Japan attacked the German base at Tsingtao in 1914 and forced the Germans to surrender (see Siege of Tsingtao). Japanese officers aboard British warships were casualties at the Battle of Jutland in 1916.[5] In 1917, Japanese warships were sent to the Mediterranean and assisted in the protection of allied shipping near Malta from U-boat attacks. A memorial at the Kalkara Naval Cemetery in Malta is dedicated to the 72 Japanese sailors who died in the conflict.[6] The Treaty also made possible the Japanese seizure of German possessions in the Pacific north of the equator during the First World War, a huge boon to Japan's imperial interests.

Players of Diplomacy will be aware that Austria-Hungary had battleships as of course had Imperial Germany.

Thus In WW1 Britain was at war with /two/ naval powers so Japan was obliged to help.

I think of Wikipedia as being like the Cliff Notes/Monarch Notes/Spark Notes/et al. for the subject. Personally, my interest in the subject is not great enough, nor do I have the time, to read the book (however, the book is short--I don't remember the exact number of pages, but it was between 100 and 200). The "Cliff Notes" will end up having to suffice for me; however, I'll definitely read all of the Wikipedia entry. It sounds like there was such a tangled mess that it will take more than one reading (for me) to get a good grasp of what went on, though.

You mentioned that "in 1961 I did School 'O' level history 1885-1933." The School 'O' level" must be something peculiar to the education of English children or children maybe of a greater swath of Great Britain than that. It may be somewhere in the U.S., too, but I am not aware of it.

[sufue]

While on my way to spending some Great on Kindle credits that were going to expire today, I found The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American by John Oller, which has been on sale (per SYKM) at $3.99 for about a month. (Prior to that it was $11.99 for quite a while.)

It's pretty highly rated (4.6 stars on 182 reviews) and my son likes military history, so this was a quick sale...and a great way to use enough of my Great on Kindle credits so the rest now expire in February, and I have longer to look for other books to spend them on.

Hopefully some others may be interested too...

link: https://www.amazon.com/Swamp-Fox-Fra...dp/B01IMZ5CDO/

Spoiler:

In the darkest days of the American Revolution, Francis Marion and his band of militia freedom fighters kept hope alive for the patriot cause during the critical British "southern campaign." Employing insurgent guerrilla tactics that became commonplace in later centuries, Marion and his brigade inflicted enemy losses that were individually small but cumulatively a large drain on British resources and morale.

Although many will remember the stirring adventures of the "Swamp Fox" from the Walt Disney television series of the late 1950s and the fictionalized Marion character played by Mel Gibson in the 2000 film The Patriot, the real Francis Marion bore little resemblance to either of those caricatures. But his exploits were no less heroic as he succeeded, against all odds, in repeatedly foiling the highly trained, better-equipped forces arrayed against him.

In this action-packed biography we meet many colorful characters from the Revolution: Banastre Tarleton, the British cavalry officer who relentlessly pursued Marion over twenty-six miles of swamp, only to call off the chase and declare (per legend) that "the Devil himself could not catch this damned old fox," giving Marion his famous nickname; Thomas Sumter, the bold but rash patriot militia leader whom Marion detested; Lord Cornwallis, the imperious British commander who ordered the hanging of rebels and the destruction of their plantations; "Light-Horse Harry" Lee, the urbane young Continental cavalryman who helped Marion topple critical British outposts in South Carolina; but most of all Francis Marion himself, "the Washington of the South," a man of ruthless determination yet humane character, motivated by what his peers called "the purest patriotism."

In The Swamp Fox, the first major biography of Marion in more than forty years, John Oller compiles striking evidence and brings together much recent learning to provide a fresh look both at Marion, the man, and how he helped save the American Revolution.

Oh yeah, also $3.99 at Kobo US if you don't have Great on Kindle credits: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-swamp-fox-4

[sufue]

I have read and really enjoyed Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II by Liza Mundy. It has dropped to $2.99 at Kindle and Kobo US.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Code-Girls-Un...dp/B01N193KET/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/code-girls

Spoiler:

The award-winning New York Times bestseller about the American women who secretly served as codebreakers during World War II--a "prodigiously researched and engrossing" (New York Times) book that "shines a light on a hidden chapter of American history" (Denver Post).

Recruited by the U.S. Army and Navy from small towns and elite colleges, more than ten thousand women served as codebreakers during World War II. While their brothers and boyfriends took up arms, these women moved to Washington and learned the meticulous work of code-breaking. Their efforts shortened the war, saved countless lives, and gave them access to careers previously denied to them. A strict vow of secrecy nearly erased their efforts from history; now, through dazzling research and interviews with surviving code girls, bestselling author Liza Mundy brings to life this riveting and vital story of American courage, service, and scientific accomplishment.

[Little.Egret]

Charles River Editors, free

Saint Nicholas of Myra: The Life and Legacy of the Ancient Christian Bishop Who Became the Inspiration for Santa Claus

Suleiman the Magnificent: The Life and Legacy of the Ottoman Empire’s Most Famous Sultan

Baron Johann de Kalb: The Life and Legacy of the German Major General Who Fought in the American Revolution

The CSS Shenandoah: The History of the Famous Confederate Raider that Surrendered Over Half a Year After the Civil War Ended

Yugoslavia: The History of the Eastern European Nation from Its Founding to Its Breakup


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https://www.amazon.ca/s/?url=search-...+river+editors

[Little.Egret]

Originally Posted by Little.Egret

Charles River Editors, free

Saint Nicholas of Myra: The Life and Legacy of the Ancient Christian Bishop Who Became the Inspiration for Santa Claus

Suleiman the Magnificent: The Life and Legacy of the Ottoman Empire’s Most Famous Sultan

Baron Johann de Kalb: The Life and Legacy of the German Major General Who Fought in the American Revolution

The CSS Shenandoah: The History of the Famous Confederate Raider that Surrendered Over Half a Year After the Civil War Ended

Yugoslavia: The History of the Eastern European Nation from Its Founding to Its Breakup


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https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?url=sear...+river+editors

https://www.amazon.ca/s/?url=search-...+river+editors

Add

Haunted Castles across the World: A Collection of Supernatural Tales about the World’s Most Historical Fortifications

Gujarat: The History of the Indian State from the Ancient Indus Valley Civilization to Today

The Gulags: The History and Legacy of the Notorious Soviet Labor Camps

[Little.Egret]

Endeavour, free


The Gilded Lily: The Life and Loves of the Fabulous Lillie Langtry by Ernest Dudley

First published in 1958 by Odhams Press Limited

The fascinating “Jersey Lily” whose name remains a legend.

A woman of “unique loveliness, scintillating wit and implacable courage” came to London in 1878, young, married, ambitious but unknown. Within a year she had so captivated Society that crowds followed her in the street, fashions were named after her, leading painters, writers, noblemen and men of fortune vied for her favours and Queen Victoria herself received her in audience—curious to see the woman whom, the world knew, the Prince of Wales had taken as his mistress.

Ernest Dudley ran away from home at seventeen to become an actor in a Shakespearean troop, where he would later meet his future wife on the set of Peter Pan. Dudley then turned his attention to writing, first as a journalist, then as a writer for radio, television and film, before embarking on historical and detective novel writing. He was a founding member of the Crime Writers Association, and a marathon runner well into old age.


https://www.amazon.com/Gilded-Lily-F...dp/B07KCNG7BR/

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[sufue]

The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World is a 2018 title by Simon Winchester. It has dropped to $3.99 at Kindle and Kobo US, which is a pretty good price for recent non-fiction. I've read a couple of Winchester's other books and liked them.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072BFJB3Z/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-perfectionists-7

Spoiler:

The revered New York Times bestselling author traces the development of technology from the Industrial Age to the Digital Age to explore the single component crucial to advancement—precision—in a superb history that is both an homage and a warning for our future.

The rise of manufacturing could not have happened without an attention to precision. At the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in eighteenth-century England, standards of measurement were established, giving way to the development of machine tools—machines that make machines. Eventually, the application of precision tools and methods resulted in the creation and mass production of items from guns and glass to mirrors, lenses, and cameras—and eventually gave way to further breakthroughs, including gene splicing, microchips, and the Hadron Collider.

Simon Winchester takes us back to origins of the Industrial Age, to England where he introduces the scientific minds that helped usher in modern production: John Wilkinson, Henry Maudslay, Joseph Bramah, Jesse Ramsden, and Joseph Whitworth. It was Thomas Jefferson who later exported their discoveries to the fledgling United States, setting the nation on its course to become a manufacturing titan. Winchester moves forward through time, to today’s cutting-edge developments occurring around the world, from America to Western Europe to Asia.

As he introduces the minds and methods that have changed the modern world, Winchester explores fundamental questions. Why is precision important? What are the different tools we use to measure it? Who has invented and perfected it? Has the pursuit of the ultra-precise in so many facets of human life blinded us to other things of equal value, such as an appreciation for the age-old traditions of craftsmanship, art, and high culture? Are we missing something that reflects the world as it is, rather than the world as we think we would wish it to be? And can the precise and the natural co-exist in society?

[Little.Egret]

Charles River Editors, free

The Vikings at Home and Abroad: The History of the Norsemen during the Viking Age

Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler: The Lives of the Early Modern Astronomers Whose Partnership Revolutionized the Field of Astronomy

Ghost Tales of the United Kingdom: Historic Hauntings and Supernatural Stories from the UK

The Opium Wars and Sino-Japanese Wars: The History of the Conflicts that Ended China’s Standing as a World Power

The History of Ireland and Northern Ireland in the 20th Century


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[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by sufue

The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World is a 2018 title by Simon Winchester. It has dropped to $3.99 at Kindle and Kobo US, which is a pretty good price for recent non-fiction. I've read a couple of Winchester's other books and liked them.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072BFJB3Z/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-perfectionists-7

Based on a review on amazon, this might be one of the rare books where viewing the illustrations is a better experience for the electronic version than the hardcover paper version.

[keithdt]

Free Kindle book from Open Road. It came up when I was looking at the new Kindle Monthly Deals.

A Dark and Bloody Ground: A True Story of Lust, Greed, and Murder in the Bluegrass State

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KQZY34I...ing=UTF8&psc=1

"An Edgar Award–winning author's true crime account of a grisly string of killings in Kentucky—and the shocking spectacle of greed that followed.

Kentucky never deserved its Indian appellation "A Dark and Bloody Ground" more than when a small-town physician, seventy-seven-year-old Roscoe Acker, called in an emergency on a sweltering evening in August 1985. Acker's own life hung in the balance, but it was already too late for his college-age daughter, Tammy, savagely stabbed eleven times and pinned by a kitchen knife to her bedroom floor. Three men had breached Dr. Acker's alarm and security systems and made off with the fortune he had stashed away over his lifetime.

The killers—part of a three-man, two-woman gang of the sort not seen since the Barkers—stopped counting the moldy bills when they reached $1.9 million. The cash came in handy soon after when they were caught and needed to lure Kentucky's most flamboyant lawyer, the celebrated and corrupt Lester Burns, into representing them. Full of colorful characters and desperate deeds, A Dark and Bloody Ground is a "first-rate" true crime chronicle from the author of Murder in Little Egypt (Kirkus Reviews)."

"An arresting look into the troubled psyches of these criminals and into the depressed Kentucky economy that became fertile territory for narcotics dealers, theft rings and bootleggers." —Publishers Weekly

"The smell of wet, coal-laden earth, white lightning, and cocaine-driven sweat arises from these marvelously atmospheric—and compelling—pages." —Kirkus Reviews

"A fascinating portrait of the mountain way of life and thought that forged the lives of these criminals." —Library Journal

[KyBunnies]

Originally Posted by keithdt

Free Kindle book from Open Road. It came up when I was looking at the new Kindle Monthly Deals.

A Dark and Bloody Ground: A True Story of Lust, Greed, and Murder in the Bluegrass State

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KQZY34I...ing=UTF8&psc=1

"An Edgar Award–winning author's true crime account of a grisly string of killings in Kentucky—and the shocking spectacle of greed that followed.

Kentucky never deserved its Indian appellation "A Dark and Bloody Ground" more than when a small-town physician, seventy-seven-year-old Roscoe Acker, called in an emergency on a sweltering evening in August 1985. Acker's own life hung in the balance, but it was already too late for his college-age daughter, Tammy, savagely stabbed eleven times and pinned by a kitchen knife to her bedroom floor. Three men had breached Dr. Acker's alarm and security systems and made off with the fortune he had stashed away over his lifetime.

The killers—part of a three-man, two-woman gang of the sort not seen since the Barkers—stopped counting the moldy bills when they reached $1.9 million. The cash came in handy soon after when they were caught and needed to lure Kentucky's most flamboyant lawyer, the celebrated and corrupt Lester Burns, into representing them. Full of colorful characters and desperate deeds, A Dark and Bloody Ground is a "first-rate" true crime chronicle from the author of Murder in Little Egypt (Kirkus Reviews)."

"An arresting look into the troubled psyches of these criminals and into the depressed Kentucky economy that became fertile territory for narcotics dealers, theft rings and bootleggers." —Publishers Weekly

"The smell of wet, coal-laden earth, white lightning, and cocaine-driven sweat arises from these marvelously atmospheric—and compelling—pages." —Kirkus Reviews

"A fascinating portrait of the mountain way of life and thought that forged the lives of these criminals." —Library Journal

Thanks this is a must read for me.