FREE/BARGAIN — Non-Fiction

[sufue]

Ted Sorensen's classic biography of John F Kennedy, which I've read and really enjoyed, is on sale at Kindle US for $2.99. For me, this biography really helped fill some of the holes in my formal history education, since my rather dated high-school World History textbook stopped just after the Korean conflict (betraying my age), but I wasn't really old enough to remember stuff myself until the Vietnam war. And also I'm in awe/love with the last few paragraphs of JFK's inaugural address...

Kennedy
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003JBHVY0

Spoiler:

In January 1953, freshman senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts hired a twenty-four-year-old from Nebraska as his Number Two legislative assistant—on a trial basis. Despite the differences in their backgrounds, in the eleven years that followed Ted Sorensen became known as Kennedy's intellectual blood bank, top policy aide, and alter ego.

Sorensen knew Kennedy the man, the senator, the candidate, and the president as no other associate did. From his role as a legislative assistant to Kennedy's death in 1963, Sorensen was with him during the key crises and turning points—including the spectacular race for the vice presidency at the 1956 convention, the launching of Kennedy's presidential candidacy, the TV debates with Nixon, and election night at Hyannis Port. The first appointment made by the new president was to name Ted Sorensen his Special Counsel.

In Kennedy, Sorensen recounts failures as well as successes with surprising candor and objectivity. He reveals Kennedy's errors on the Bay of Pigs, and his attitudes toward the press, Congress, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Sorensen saw firsthand Kennedy's actions in the Cuban missile crisis, and the evolution of his beliefs on civil rights and arms control. First published in 1965 and reissued here with a new preface, Kennedy is an intimate biography of an extraordinary man, and one of the most important historical accounts of the twentieth century.

“In all the millions of words which have been written about the martyred President, this book must remain unique.” —*Los Angeles Times

[Sumanuil]

Project Fire: Cutting-Edge Techniques and Sizzling Recipes from the Caveman Porterhouse to Salt Slab Brownie S'Mores by Steven Raichlen is $2.99 at Amazon US.

[Dazrin]

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is on sale for $0.99. This is the what the recent movie was based on.

Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Ministry-Unge.../dp/B07TV1TCTS
Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the...anly-warfare-8
Google - https://play.google.com/store/books/...emanly_Warfare
Apple - https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-...e/id1470910311

[j.p.s]

So changing the cover wasn't enough for them so they changed the title as well.

[Sumanuil]

This month's free University of Chicago Press ebook is Cycling Science: How Rider and Machine Work Together by Max Glaskin.

“For Cycling Science: How Rider and Machine Work Together British cyclist and journalist Max Glaskin mined hundreds of scientific studies and academic papers for findings that he explains in accessible language. The book is organized around a series of questions and answers framed to educate professional and recreational riders as well as the scientifically curious. The questions range from the practical (What is the most efficient bike design?) to the speculative (Why might plasma be the future of bike materials?). Each answer is accompanied by a terrific set of infographics.”— Boston Globe

[sufue]

Joffe's Free Friday books for today, June 7, 2024, are usually available through the weekend, but occasionally not.* *So if you want any or all of these, best to grab them now.

First Blitz is an account of a secret German plan to raze London in 1918, based, per its blurb, on first-hand witnesses and government war records.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZVX6FH7
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07ZVX6FH7

And the other two books are a mystery and an historical saga, posted in the appropriate threads.

Spoiler:

Far from the killing fields of France, a little-known battle was fought in the skies over London that nearly altered the course of the First World War and with it, the history of humanity itself. The margin between survival and total destruction came down to less than one hour.

In four years, the Luftwaffe’s England squadron had moved from crude canvas-and-wire light aircraft to the four-engined giants as big as anything that flew in the Second World War. This, combined with the development of a revolutionary incendiary bomb, gave Germany the chance to raze London to the ground. It was a chance that they came within an inch of taking…

[salty-horse]

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappe is £1 on Amazon UK

Renowned Israeli historian, Ilan Pappe's groundbreaking work on the formation of the State of Israel.

Between 1947 and 1949, over 400 Palestinian villages were deliberately destroyed, civilians were massacred and around a million men, women, and children were expelled from their homes at gunpoint.

Denied for almost six decades, had it happened today it could only have been called 'ethnic cleansing'. Decisively debunking the myth that the Palestinian population left of their own accord in the course of this war, Ilan Pappe offers impressive archival evidence to demonstrate that, from its very inception, a central plank in Israel’s founding ideology was the forcible removal of the indigenous population. Indispensable for anyone interested in the current crisis in the Middle East.

[sufue]

The Pope & the Heretic: The True Story of Giordano Bruno, the Man Who Dared to Defy the Roman Inquisition, by Michael White, is $2.99 right now in the US. I've put it in the Mystery thread, because I became interested in this non-fiction book due to SJ Parris' excellent historical mystery series featuring Bruno as the protagonist. But I'm cross-posting here for those who might just want to read about Bruno .

link to the post: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh....php?p=4432138

[sufue]

Eyewitness Hiroshima by Adrian Weale is free today, and probably - but not certainly - through the weekend, as one of Joffe's Free Friday books.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08F2DV61L
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08F2DV61L

Spoiler:

A detailed account of one of the most destructive attacks in human history…

The world changed with devastating effect on the morning of 6 August 1945, the day the first atomic bomb used in anger exploded above the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Days later, after a second bomb had destroyed Nagasaki, the war was over and a new and terrible chapter in human history had begun.

This book is about those events as they happened, and the deadly discoveries leading to them, in the words of those who were there. Their voices include the scientists who unleashed the awesome power of the atom, like Rutherford and Oppenheimer, those who ran the secret Manhattan Project, the US pilots who flew the nuclear missions to Japan, the survivors of the horrifying explosions at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the generals and leaders who went on to run the world on the basis of Mutually Assured Destruction.

Adrian Weale is a British writer and journalist, as well as a former officer in the British Army Intelligence Corps.

There are also a mystery and a romance book for free, posted in the appropriate threads.

[GA Russell]

Talking to Strangers
by Malcolm Gladwell

$2.99

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NDKVWZW

[Loosheesh]

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien: Revised and Expanded Edition at Amazon US for $1.99

Spoiler:

The comprehensive collection of letters spanning the adult life of one of the world’s greatest storytellers, now revised and expanded to include more than 150 previously unseen letters, with revealing new insights into The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.

J.R.R. Tolkien, creator of the languages and history of Middle-earth as recorded in The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, was one of the most prolific letter-writers of the last century. Over the years he wrote a mass of letters—to his publishers, to members of his family, to friends, and to “fans” of his books—which often reveal the inner workings of his mind, and which record the history of composition of his works and his reaction to subsequent events.

A selection from Tolkien’s correspondence, collected and edited by Tolkien’s official biographer, Humphrey Carpenter, and assisted by Christopher Tolkien, was published in 1981. It presented, in Tolkien’s own words, a highly detailed portrait of the man in his many aspects: storyteller, scholar, Catholic, parent, friend, and observer of the world around him.

In this revised and expanded edition of The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, it has been possible to go back to the editors’ original typescripts and notes, restoring more than 150 letters that were excised purely to achieve what was then deemed a “publishable length.” and present the book as originally intended.

Enthusiasts for his writings will find much that is new, for the letters not only include fresh information about Middle-earth, such as Tolkien’s own plot summary of the entirety of The Lord of the Rings and a vision for publishing his “Tales of the Three Ages,” but also many insights into the man and his world. In addition, this new selection will entertain anyone who appreciates the art of letter-writing, of which J.R.R. Tolkien was a master.

(Also, The Complete Works of J R R Tolkien is now available at Delphi Classics for $3.99, for persons in 50-year countries (excluding Canada). Of course, it's not 'complete' ...)

[Sumanuil]

This month's free University of Chicago Press ebook is After Freud Left:
A Century of Psychoanalysis in America, edited by John Burnham.

“After Freud Left makes a much needed intervention into the historical record, revealing the eclectic and incongruous ways in which Freud’s ideas migrated stateside..” — Brooklyn Rail

[radbaddude]

You Can't Screw This Up by Adam Bornstein
$1.99 - Amazon US

The diet industry is great at making you follow more diets, not making you leave dieting behind. You don't need another restrictive, unrealistic plan; you need tools that help you enjoy what you eat (including takeout!) and be healthier at the same time.

Adam Bornstein is a bestselling author, and has consulted health icons including Arnold Schwarzenegger, LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, and Lindsey Vonn. He’s one of the most trusted voices in health because of his ability to get results without gimmicks, supplements, or suffering.

In this easy-to-follow book, Bornstein shows how upgrading your health and losing weight for good requires you to turn your back on the typical dieting culture by following successful habits and frameworks not typically seen in nutrition and fitness. It includes

A 6-week plan that allows you to eat the foods you prefer without counting calories or stressing macros.
Take-out options from the top fifty most visited restaurants in America (so you can eat anywhere guilt-free)
Thirty satisfying, nutritious recipes for all meals, including cinnamon-raisin French toast sticks, nachos, and sweet potato mac & cheese with bacon
Quick and easy meals, and effective workouts that can be done in as little as 15 minutes.

Once you learn a better way to build healthy habits, you can leave behind the shame and guilt of most plans and make the healthy lifestyle changes you’ve been chasing.

[issybird]

A book I’ve wanted since it came out two years ago, The Siege of Loyalty House by Jessie Childs, is on sale for 99p at Kobo UK and presumably Amazon UK. The story of the battle for a royalist stronghold during the English Civil War, it’s an eye-popping $18.99 in the US.

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the...-loyalty-house

[sufue]

Wounded Tigris: A River Journey Through the Cradle of Civilization, by Leon McCarron, is on sale today for $1.99 as part of the US Kindle Daily Deal, and matched at Kobo US. I haven't read this, but it looks pretty interesting, and has decent GoodReads reviews, and I tend to like this sort of "journey today through an historical region" book. (Reviews do indicate there's a lot of modern day ecology in it, as well as historical stuff...)

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BV123PHT
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/wounded-tigris-2

Spoiler:

A fascinating journey down the Tigris River—the lifeblood of human civilization—in search of history and hope.

Starting at the source of this storied river, where ancient Mesopotamians and Assyrian kings had their images carved into stone, explorer Leon McCarron and his small team will journey through the Turkish mountains, across north-east Syria and into the heart of Iraq.

Along the way, they will pass through historic cities like Diyarbakir, Mosul, and Baghdad. We will meet fishermen and farmers, along with artists, activists, and archaeologists, who rely on the flow of the river. Occasionally harassed by militias, often helped by soldiers, McCarron rode his luck in areas still troubled by ISIS and relied on the generosity of a network of strangers as he follows the river to its end in the Persian Gulf.

For readers of Simon Winchester, Erika Fatland, and Kevin Fedarko, Wounded Tigris is the story of what humanity stands to lose with the death of a great river, and what can be done to try to save it.