Free books: History & Biography
The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood (2011)
I'm only 4 chapters in, but this is the best piece of book-length nonfiction I've read, maybe ever? Good science writers are hard to find, and this is fascinating.Another reviewer (Jenn), who I don't know but wish I did, wrote the following review, and I totally concur (and told her so):Here's an...
Day After Night (2009)
Еще одна шикарная книга из серии Vintage Story. История 4 девушек, попавших в 1945 году близ Атлита в лагерь для задержанных "нелегальных репатриантов". В книги рассказывается истории этих девушек, истории их потерь, истории их жизней до лагеря и описывается их жизнь в лагере. Невероятно трогател...
City of Women (2012)
A pretty good cloak-and-dagger thriller, set against the backdrop of wartime Berlin. My enjoyment was a bit hampered by the absence of any sympathetic characters...despite the fact that many of them were involved in saving the lives of entrapped Jews, the characters are far from noble...although ...
Unfamiliar Fishes (2011)
I really like listening to Sarah Vowell read her books and was inspired to get this audiobook from the library after attending an event with her this summer where she read some excerpts. The history of Hawaii is interesting but I had a hard time keeping all of the unfamiliar names and places stra...
Every Man Dies Alone (1946)
Oef... Ik begon in Berlijn aan dit boek, dan kon ik me fijn inleven, dat doe ik graag.Dat ik daar een maand later nog in zou zitten had ik niet verwacht. Wat een beklemmend, je leeg slurpend, bijzonder boek.Beide kanten laat Fallada zien, maar wil ik dat wel?En waarom lees ik het? Terwijl ik weet...
Once We Were Brothers (2013)
This book had the perfect combination of historical fiction and suspense. The book flashes between the war-time period and the present day time period full of greed and industrialization. As well, the book features a plot line that reels readers in and makes them want to keep on reading. The susp...
Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality (2010)
A lot of combative anthropology over characterizations of prehistoric man. Does pose some interesting challenges to a few ideas I took at face value from some of my other favorite academics though. The tone is a little defensive at times, but the book does offer a more holistic evolutionary under...
China Dolls (2014)
I remember how much I loved Snow Flower and the Secret Fan so was not surprised at how much I enjoyed this story. The three women, Ruby, Helen and Grace, are so very different from each other. I like that each has chapters told from their perspective so that you get to understand their backgro...
An Illustrated Life: Drawing Inspiration from the Private Sketchbooks of Artists, Illustrators and Designers (2008)
I just can't get enough of other artists' sketchbooks--it's like reality TV for creative types but, in my opinion, of a superior quality. It's amazing to get this glimpse of so many different artists and the varying styles, media, approaches, and philosophies of their private art journals. One th...
Just My Type: A Book About Fonts (2011)
Livro bem interessante para quem é curioso para saber mais sobre tipografia, com um estilo leve e descontraído. Para leitores que procuram informações mais técnicas e objetivas, esse não é o livro. Na verdade, é quase um livro de ensaios ou crônicas sobre a história da tipografia e o trabalho dos...
Mrs. Lincoln Dressmaker (2013)
So boring!!! I just didn't enjoy this at all. The writing was fine, but I was mostly just bored. Elizabeth is a very cardboard character that didn't seem to have a lot of personality. I felt like I got to know more about the Lincoln's and the Civil War than I did the main character. This really w...
Killing Jesus: A History (2013)
This is a look at the life and times of Jesus from a historical perspective. Since not much is available to research, of necessity there is a lot left to "interpretation". I did get a better feel for the political context of the time of Jesus, but I felt a lot less confident in the "facts" presen...
The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion (2013)
Oh, how can it be that I have never read Fannie Flagg's books before? I got totally lost reading about two families: the Poole's of Point Clear, Alabama (present day) and the Jurdabralinski's of Pulaski, WI (past). If you are a fan of southern humor and angst, this is a perfect book to feed th...
The Last Runaway (2012)
Even though I felt ambiguous towards Honor - she isn't always likeable - I loved this book. Perhaps exactly because Honor is so human. She is prejudiced, stubborn and a know-it-all as a girl her age who is picked up and thrown into a strange country with strange people is, in any day and age. If ...
L'ultima fuggitiva (2012)
Mansion House Hotel. Hudson, Ohio. Venticinquesimo giorno del quinto mese, 1850. Il viaggio per mare da Bristol a New York percorso in compagnia della sorella Grace, impaziente di raggiungere l’America, ha dissuaso la giovane inglese dal tornare presto sull’acqua; la traversata sull’oceano è stat...