Free Book (nook) - Curious Folks Ask

Curious Folks Ask: 162 Real Answers on Amazing Inventions, Fascinating Products, and Medical Mysteries ($9.99 Kindle), by Sherry Seethaler, previously free for the Kindle (Jul '10), is now free from B&N for the nook. This is the same series and author as Curious Folks Ask 2: Our Fellow Creatures, Our Planet, and Beyond, which was free earlier this morning for a few hours, but is now back to $9.99.

Book Description
Prepare to Be Fascinated!

• Why does the flu change every year?
• What makes glue sticky?
• What causes out-of-body experiences?
• Are all brands of gas the same?
• Will adult stem cells work as well as embryonic stem cells?
• Is one “horsepower” really equal to the power of one horse?
• Why can’t you sneeze with your eyes open?
• How much does a cremated body weigh?

These are just a few of the fascinating science and health questions real people have asked top science writer and San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Sherry Seethaler. Curious Folks Ask brings together 162 of her best answers–all crystal-clear, accurate, quick, and a pleasure to read. Seethaler knows exactly how to cut through jargon, confusion, and myths. She’s passionate about sharing what scientists have learned and what they still don’t know. She explores everything from our bodies to our best inventions: what makes us healthy, what makes us human, and plenty more. Prepare to be surprised, intrigued, and amazed!

Click HERE for the free download from B&N.

Free Book (ADE-DRM) - No Dig, No Fly, No Go

No Dig, No Fly, No Go: How Maps Restrict and Control ($13.50 paperback), by Mark Monmonier, is free TODAY ONLY from the University of Chicago Press.

Book Description
Some maps help us find our way; others restrict where we go and what we do. These maps control behavior, regulating activities from flying to fishing, prohibiting students from one part of town from being schooled on the other, and banishing certain individuals and industries to the periphery. This restrictive cartography has boomed in recent decades as governments seek to regulate activities as diverse as hiking, building a residence, opening a store, locating a chemical plant, or painting a house anything but regulation colors. It is this aspect of mapping - its power to prohibit - that celebrated geographer Mark Monmonier tackles in "No Dig, No Fly, No Go".

Restrictive mapping has been indispensable in settling the American West, claiming slices of Antarctica, protecting fragile ocean fisheries, and keeping sex offenders away from playgrounds. But it has also been used for opprobrium: during one of the darkest moments in American history, cartographic exclusion orders helped send thousands of Japanese Americans to remote detention camps. Tracing the power of prohibitive mapping at multiple levels - from regional to international - and multiple dimensions - from property to cyberspace - Monmonier demonstrates how much boundaries influence our experience, from homeownership and voting to taxation and airline travel.

A worthy successor to his critically acclaimed How to Lie with Maps, the book is replete with all of the hallmarks of a Monmonier classic, including the wry observations and witty humor. Written for anyone who votes, owns a home, or aspires to be an informed citizen, "No Dig, No Fly, No Go" will change the way we look at maps forever.

Click HERE to sign up for the free book. You'll need to give them an email address and then check for their message to get the download link. I'd suggest you do both today, since it's a one-day offer. The book is a DRM'd PDF and will requires Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) to download and read.

Free Video - When We Left Earth

You can get season one of When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions, from The Discovery Channel, for free right now. You must FIRST enter the promotion code BLASTOFF, so that you'll get the $11.94 credit to your account, before purchasing the season. To do this, click where it says Redeem a gift card or promotion code & view balance, directly beneath the viewing window. Enter the promotion code and wait to see a confirmation that the $11.94 has been credited to your account. Then, click on the button that says Buy Season 1 with 1-Click $11.94. You'll get a confirmation email that shows the purchase and the credit, with a net zero billing.

Season Synopsis
Discovery Channel presents the dramatic story of NASA's pioneering, awe-inspiring missions commemorating the first 50 years of space exploration in the landmark special series When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions. Featured is never-before-seen footage from NASA's secret film vaults, digitally remastered into stunning quality.