FREE/BARGAIN — Non-Fiction

[GtrsRGr8]

When I post open access or otherwise free ebooks, I usually cut them some slack on the ratings--I'll post a free book with lower ratings than I would a book that a person has to pay for.

With this open access (Creative Commons license) book, however, I don't have to make any compromises with my standards. It has outstanding ratings. It's rated 4.6 stars, but from only 13 reviews, at Amazon; at GoodReads, it's rated 4.23 from 48 ratings!

The book is Knocking the Hustle: Against the Neoliberal Turn in Black Politics, by Lester Spence. Unglue.it, where I learned of this freebie, gives it a date of 2015.

Here's the book description from unglue.it:
Over the past several years scholars, activists, and analysts have begun to examine the growing divide between the wealthy and the rest of us, suggesting that the divide can be traced to the neoliberal turn. “I’m not a business man; I’m a business, man.” Perhaps no better statement gets at the heart of this turn. Increasingly we’re being forced to think of ourselves in entrepreneurial terms, forced to take more and more responsibility for developing our “human capital.” Furthermore a range of institutions from churches to schools to entire cities have been remade, restructured to in order to perform like businesses. Finally, even political concepts like freedom, and democracy have been significantly altered. As a result we face higher levels of inequality than any other time over the last century.

In Knocking the Hustle: Against the Neoliberal Turn in Black Politics, Lester K. Spence writes the first book length effort to chart the effects of this transformation on African American communities, in an attempt to revitalize the black political imagination. Rather than asking black men and women to “hustle harder” Spence criticizes the act of hustling itself as a tactic used to demobilize and disempower the communities most in need of empowerment.

"The story I began this with is not a life or death story. But it is a story about a certain type of suffering, a masked suffering, that even when healed is done so problematically, “problematically” because the various ways we (and here I not only refer to African Americans but to Americans in general) tend to heal this suffering are woefully inadequate, in part because we haven’t properly identified what causes our suffering in the first place. The crises my family faced are the natural end-products of a society that increasingly shirks its responsibilities to those perceived to be losers in an increasingly stark competition over material, social, and psychic resources….For a variety of reasons we’ve been forced to hustle and grind our way out of the post-civil rights era, and it is this hustle and grind in all of its institutional manifestations that’s resulted in our current condition. While interest in neoliberalism is growing, writings that examine how neoliberalism shapes black life are few and far between. I rectify this gap with an eye towards contributing to the scholarly literature but more importantly with an eye towards contributing to the broader conversation about solutions."

The ebook is free via unglue.it, but it is not free at Amazon. The digital version at Amazon (Kindle mobi) is $5.99. This freebie from unglue.it is in the PDF format. However, if you want to use a Kindle for reading it, unglue.it has a "Send to Kindle" option (you will need to have an account with unglue.it, though). Otherwise, the PDF is readable on everything, or nearly everything, that you usually can read a PDF on.

Here's the dedicated webpage at Amazon for the book should you wish to see what they have to say about the book.

My posting of this book does not mean that I agree with anything, some things, or nothing said in the book. In fact, all that I know about the content of this book is what the subtitle says or implies. I try to be as neutral as possible in posting books with controversial content; as much as I can, considering the fact that I am a normal human being who has his own biases, presuppositions, etc.

[Little.Egret]

Originally Posted by rrrlakin

None of the links work. They all say no listings match your search items.

rrrlakin

Sorry, since the books are no longer free the search now yields nothing.

[LJJohnson]

At Amazon USA: Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0166JFFD0

New York Times Bestseller

The phenomenal true story of the black female mathematicians at NASA whose calculations helped fuel some of America’s greatest achievements in space. Soon to be a major motion picture starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kirsten Dunst, and Kevin Costner.

Before John Glenn orbited the earth, or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as “human computers” used pencils, slide rules and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space.

Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of their generation. Originally relegated to teaching math in the South’s segregated public schools, they were called into service during the labor shortages of World War II, when America’s aeronautics industry was in dire need of anyone who had the right stuff. Suddenly, these overlooked math whizzes had a shot at jobs worthy of their skills, and they answered Uncle Sam’s call, moving to Hampton, Virginia and the fascinating, high-energy world of the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory.

Even as Virginia’s Jim Crow laws required them to be segregated from their white counterparts, the women of Langley’s all-black “West Computing” group helped America achieve one of the things it desired most: a decisive victory over the Soviet Union in the Cold War, and complete domination of the heavens.

Starting in World War II and moving through to the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement and the Space Race, Hidden Figures follows the interwoven accounts of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Christine Darden, four African American women who participated in some of NASA’s greatest successes. It chronicles their careers over nearly three decades they faced challenges, forged alliances and used their intellect to change their own lives, and their country’s future.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by LJJohnson

At Amazon USA: Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0166JFFD0?tag=eriq-noti-20
<snip>

This sounds like it would be an interesting book. I'm going to run over to the webpage and see if there's a cheap Whispersync audio to go with it.

There's a fact that some of you may be interested in knowing. I heard Gene Krantz (head of mission control for the NASA Apollo program, I think that was) say that in the early days of the program to eventually get a human to the moon, very few of the workers (engineers, probably the mathematicians like this book talks about, etc.) had a Doctorate degree. Most of them had only a Master's. That makes it even more amazing to me what they accomplished!

[LJJohnson]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

This sounds like it would be an interesting book. I'm going to run over to the webpage and see if there's a cheap Whispersync audio to go with it.

There's a fact that some of you may be interested in knowing. I heard Gene Krantz (head of mission control for the NASA Apollo program, I think that was) say that in the early days of the program to eventually get a human to the moon, very few of the workers (engineers, probably the mathematicians like this book talks about, etc.) had a Doctorate degree. Most of them had only a Master's. That makes it even more amazing to me what they accomplished!

I first heard about the black women at NASA on the TV show Timeless. Seemed odd I have never heard of this, so checked and found out it was a real thing. Then I started seeing the trailers for the movie, and went to eReaderIQ to set a ping for $1.99. Tada, it showed up this morning. I never figured a movie tie-in would go down so fast. It has been $14.99 for most of the time, only moving down to $11.99 lately.

[bfisher]

Originally Posted by LJJohnson

At Amazon USA: Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0166JFFD0?tag=eriq-noti-20

Thanks so much I was able to get it at Amazon.ca for $CDN 1.99
https://www.amazon.ca/Hidden-Figures.../dp/B0166JFFD0

[Red Falcon]

Three free Charles River Editors Titles. The last one is in Spanish.

https://www.amazon.com/Old-Kingdom-A.../dp/B01N201E52

https://www.amazon.com/Illuminati-Hi.../dp/B01MY5YLC0

https://www.amazon.com/Santa-Anna-Pr...dp/B01N31LI2I/

[bookmarked]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007MEWAX2/
Who Stole the American Dream? by Hedrick Smith $1.99

Publication date: September 11, 2012
Publisher: Random House

Description

Pulitzer Prize winner Hedrick Smith’s new book is an extraordinary achievement, an eye-opening account of how, over the past four decades, the American Dream has been dismantled and we became two Americas.

In his bestselling The Russians, Smith took millions of readers inside the Soviet Union. In The Power Game, he took us inside Washington’s corridors of power. Now Smith takes us across America to show how seismic changes, sparked by a sequence of landmark political and economic decisions, have transformed America. As only a veteran reporter can, Smith fits the puzzle together, starting with Lewis Powell’s provocative memo that triggered a political rebellion that dramatically altered the landscape of power from then until today.

This is a book full of surprises and revelations—the accidental beginnings of the 401(k) plan, with disastrous economic consequences for many; the major policy changes that began under Jimmy Carter; how the New Economy disrupted America’s engine of shared prosperity, the “virtuous circle” of growth, and how America lost the title of “Land of Opportunity.” Smith documents the transfer of $6 trillion in middle-class wealth from homeowners to banks even before the housing boom went bust, and how the U.S. policy tilt favoring the rich is stunting America’s economic growth.

This book is essential reading for all of us who want to understand America today, or why average Americans are struggling to keep afloat. Smith reveals how pivotal laws and policies were altered while the public wasn’t looking, how Congress often ignores public opinion, why moderate politicians got shoved to the sidelines, and how Wall Street often wins politically by hiring over 1,400 former government officials as lobbyists.

Smith talks to a wide range of people, telling the stories of Americans high and low. From political leaders such as Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, and Martin Luther King, Jr., to CEOs such as Al Dunlap, Bob Galvin, and Andy Grove, to heartland Middle Americans such as airline mechanic Pat O’Neill, software systems manager Kristine Serrano, small businessman John Terboss, and subcontractor Eliseo Guardado, Smith puts a human face on how middle-class America and the American Dream have been undermined.

This magnificent work of history and reportage is filled with the penetrating insights, provocative discoveries, and the great empathy of a master journalist. Finally, Smith offers ideas for restoring America’s great promise and reclaiming the American Dream.

Praise for Who Stole the American Dream?

“[A] sweeping, authoritative examination of the last four decades of the American economic experience.”—The Huffington Post

“Some fine work has been done in explaining the mess we’re in. . . . But no book goes to the headwaters with the precision, detail and accessibility of Smith.”—The Seattle Times

“Sweeping in scope . . . [Smith] posits some steps that could alleviate the problems of the United States.”—USA Today

“Brilliant . . . [a] remarkably comprehensive and coherent analysis of and prescriptions for America’s contemporary economic malaise.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Smith enlivens his narrative with portraits of the people caught up in events, humanizing complex subjects often rendered sterile in economic analysis. . . . The human face of the story is inseparable from the history.”—Reuters

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by bookmarked

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007MEWAX2/
Who Stole the American Dream? by Hedrick Smith $1.99

Publication date: September 11, 2012
Publisher: Random House

Description

Thanks.

It's a big book (624 pages). Ratings around the mid-4-star mark.

I wonder if the September 11 publication date was intended to give an extra jab in?

[Little.Egret]

Originally Posted by Red Falcon

Three free Charles River Editors Titles. The last one is in Spanish.

https://www.amazon.com/Old-Kingdom-A.../dp/B01N201E52

https://www.amazon.com/Illuminati-Hi.../dp/B01MY5YLC0

https://www.amazon.com/Santa-Anna-Pr...dp/B01N31LI2I/

The Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt: The History and Legacy of the Beginning of Egyptian Civilization

The Illuminati: The History of One of the World's Most Notorious Secret Societies

Santa Anna: La Vida y el Legado del Mítico Presidente y General Mexicano (Spanish Edition)

[nancy-mo]

Practice Makes Perfect Spanish Textbooks

As part of Amazon's Kindle Daily Deal today, there are 5-6 good Spanish texts for $1.99 each. As I work to improve my Spanish, I especially like Complete Spanish All-In-One which I bought during last years sale.

[Little.Egret]

Free

From Last Hope to First Aid: Stories from the History of Emergency Medicine by Francesco Adami

In search of the origin of practices, drugs, and devices present today on our ambulances and in our hospitals and emergency rooms, we get a passionate glimpse into the history of emergency, meeting the founding fathers of medicine. We get to know more deeply the brilliant doctors and passionate pioneers who with their greatest inventions have revolutionized the way we live and survive.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N1GW9XN/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N1GW9XN/

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01N1GW9XN/

[Little.Egret]

Free

From Prototype to Product - A Practical Guide for Electronic Engineers by Seggy T Segaran

UK Based

Ohm Books;

Electronic Product Development is a specialist field. It requires not only a good understanding of the technology - it demands a thorough knowledge of the whole process of taking an electronic design through the various stages and make it available for sale.

This practical guide is easy to read and is full of examples of actual products that have made it to market and generated profits from sales. It covers various aspects of product development, such as the choice of the enclosure, component tolerances and manufacturing costs.

This book will help designers turn a working prototype into a commercial product. It will help them take into account regulatory requirements such as emissions and safety, make sure that the product is documented accurately for production and be confident that it can be easily supported in the field.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FV34CJ6/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00FV34CJ6/

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00FV34CJ6/

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00FV34CJ6/

[GtrsRGr8]

Lots of you all know that I like to find open access or otherwise free books, especially ones which are available for sale at other places. And the more expensive the one that is for sale, the more that I like to post the free one.

Here's a new one that I've found. I know that this is like comparing apples and oranges, but the least expensive dead-tree copy of this one at Amazon is a $52.00 hardback - new.

It is Beyond Memory: Recording the History, Moments and Memories of South African Music, by Max Mojapelo. It shows a date of 2008. This one is available as a PDF only, but you can set up your Kindle to "Send to Kindle," as well as to directly download it to your computer or to a Dropbox account.

Here's the book description, from unglue.it, probably via the open access publisher, African Minds:
South Africa possesses one of the richest popular music traditions in the world – from marabi to mbaqanga, from boeremusiek to bubblegum, from kwela to kwaito. Yet the risk that future generations of South Africans will not know their musical roots is very real. Of all the recordings made here since the 1930s, thousands have been lost for ever, for the powers-that-be never deemed them worthy of preservation. And if one peruses the books that exist on South African popular music, one still finds that their authors have on occasion jumped to conclusions that were not as foregone as they had assumed. Yet the fault lies not with them, rather in the fact that there has been precious little documentation in South Africa of who played what, or who recorded what, with whom, and when. This is true of all music-making in this country, though it is most striking in the musics of the black communities.

Beyond Memory: Recording the History, Moments and Memories of South African Music is an invaluable publication because it offers a first-hand account of the South African music scene of the past decades from the pen of a man, Max Thamagana Mojapelo, who was situated in the very thick of things, thanks to his job as a DJ at the South African Broadcasting Corporation. This book – astonishing for the breadth of its coverage – is based on his diaries, on interviews he conducted and on numerous other sources, and we find in it not only the well-known names of recent South African music but a countless host of others whose contribution must be recorded if we and future generations are to gain an accurate picture of South African music history of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Yeah, I know. It's a little bit esoteric, a little bit specialized. But it might be right up some MobileReaders alley. And, if so, he or she can save at least $52.00. Here's where to get it. I do think that you will need an account with unglue.it.

[tubemonkey]

Free Kindle Self-Help

• Bad Habits No More: 25 Steps to Break Any Bad Habit
  
  
• Confidence: How to Overcome Your Limiting Beliefs and Achieve Your Goals
  
  
• The Motivation Switch: 77 Ways to Get Motivated, Avoid Procrastination, and Achieve Success