Free Book (ADE-DRM) - Cartographies of Danger

Cartographies of Danger: Mapping Hazards in America($15.00 Kindle), by Mark Monmonier, is free this month from the University of Chicago Press.

Book Description
No place is perfectly safe, but some places are more dangerous than others. Whether we live on a floodplain or in "Tornado Alley," near a nuclear facility or in a neighborhood poorly lit at night, we all co-exist uneasily with natural and man-made hazards. As Mark Monmonier shows in this entertaining and immensely informative book, maps can tell us a lot about where we can anticipate certain hazards, but they can also be dangerously misleading.

California, for example, takes earthquakes seriously, with a comprehensive program of seismic mapping, whereas Washington has been comparatively lax about earthquakes in Puget Sound. But as the Northridge earthquake in January 1994 demonstrated all too clearly to Californians, even reliable seismic-hazard maps can deceive anyone who misinterprets "known fault-lines" as the only places vulnerable to earthquakes.

Important as it is to predict and prepare for catastrophic natural hazards, more subtle and persistent phenomena such as pollution and crime also pose serious dangers that we have to cope with on a daily basis. Hazard-zone maps highlight these more insidious hazards and raise awareness about them among planners, local officials, and the public.

With the help of many maps illustrating examples from all corners of the United States, Monmonier demonstrates how hazard mapping reflects not just scientific understanding of hazards but also perceptions of risk and how risk can be reduced. Whether you live on a faultline or a coastline, near a toxic waste dump or an EMF-generating power line, you ignore this book's plain-language advice on geographic hazards and how to avoid them at your own peril.

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. The book is a DRM'd PDF and will requires Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) to download and read.

Free Book (nook) - I Will Carry You

I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy ($9.99 Kindle), by Angie Smith, is free in the Barnes & Noble ebookstore.

Book Description
In 2008, Angie Smith and her husband Todd (lead singer of the group Selah) learned through ultrasound that their fourth daughter had conditions making her -incompatible with life.- Advised to terminate the pregnancy, the Smiths chose instead to carry this child and allow room for a miracle. That miracle came the day they met Audrey Caroline and got the chance to love her for the precious two-and-a-half hours she lived on earth. Upon receiving the original diagnosis, Angie started a blog (Bring the Rain) to keep family and friends informed of their journey. Soon, the site exploded in popularity, connecting with thousands who were either experiencing their own heartbreaking situations or simply curious about how God could carry someone through something so tragic. I Will Carry You tells the powerful story of a parent losing her child, interwoven with the biblical story of Lazarus to help those who mourn to still have hope-to find grace and peace in the sacred dance of grief and joy.

Click HERE for the free download from B&N.

Free Book - For the Win

Cory Doctorow's For the Win ($12.23 Hardcover) released yesterday and, like all of his previous books, he has put the electronic version up on his web site as a free download.

Book Description
In the virtual future, you must organize to survive.

At any hour of the day or night, millions of people around the globe are engrossed in multiplayer online games, questing and battling to win virtual “gold,” jewels, and precious artifacts. Meanwhile, others seek to exploit this vast shadow economy, running electronic sweatshops in the world’s poorest countries, where countless “gold farmers,” bound to their work by abusive contracts and physical threats, harvest virtual treasure for their employers to sell to First World gamers who are willing to spend real money to skip straight to higher-level gameplay.

Mala is a brilliant 15-year-old from rural India whose leadership skills in virtual combat have earned her the title of “General Robotwalla.” In Shenzen, heart of China’s industrial boom, Matthew is defying his former bosses to build his own successful gold-farming team. Leonard, who calls himself Wei-Dong, lives in Southern California, but spends his nights fighting virtual battles alongside his buddies in Asia, a world away. All of these young people, and more, will become entangled with the mysterious young woman called Big Sister Nor, who will use her experience, her knowledge of history, and her connections with real-world organizers to build them into a movement that can challenge the status quo.

The ruthless forces arrayed against them are willing to use any means to protect their power—including blackmail, extortion, infiltration, violence, and even murder. To survive, Big Sister’s people must out-think the system. This will lead them to devise a plan to crash the economy of every virtual world at once—a Ponzi scheme combined with a brilliant hack that ends up being the biggest, funnest game of all.

Imbued with the same lively, subversive spirit and thrilling storytelling that made LITTLE BROTHER an international sensation, FOR THE WIN is a prophetic and inspiring call-to-arms for a new generation.

To get the free downloads, click HERE and pick your format. If you are on the Kindle and want to download it directly, then type this URL into your Kindle browser (it is case sensitive, but quite short): http://ow.ly/1K54Q

Free Game - Eye for Design

The free game this week at Sandlot Games is Eye for Design ($6.99 Amazon Game Downloads).

Game Description

• Design 52 homes containing numerous rooms
• 7 uniquely themed neighborhoods
• More than 200 increasingly-challenging levels
• Bonus rooms awarded for in-game accomplishments

Become a design diva in Eye for Design!

After attending the most prestigious interior decorator academy in Paris, and graduating at the top of her class, Halle is ready to take the next step; starting her own business.

Design and decorate ultimate dream homes for Halle's stylistically demanding clientele - from single-room studio apartments to elaborate multi-room mansions - while choosing from hundreds of colorful, uniquely chic accessories and pieces of furniture in this challenging, puzzle-filled adventure.

To reach the top, it's going to take a lot of hard work, patience, and most of all, an Eye for Design!

Click HERE to sign up for the free download. For step by step purchase and installation instructions, see this post.

Free Book (nook/Kobo) - Rage of Angels

Rage of Angels ($14.99 Kindle), by Sidney Sheldon, is free in the Barnes and Noble store (and the price dropped in the Kindle store from it's very high initial price).

Update: Now also free at Kobo.

Book Description
A worldwide bestseller first published in 1980, this novel tells the story of Jennifer Parker, a successful lawyer who is loved by two men, one a politician, the other, a mafia don.

Beautiful Jennifer Parker, having risen from disaster to become a glamorously successful defense attorney, becomes the victim of two powerful men who determine to destroy one another.

Click HERE for the free download from B&N.
Click HERE for the free download from Kobo.