Free Book (Kindle/nook/EPUB) - Change.edu

Update: 12/7/11 Now free from Sony.
Update: Now free from Barnes & Noble.

Change.edu: Rebooting for the New Talent Economy, by Andrew S. Rosen, is free in the Kindle store. There have been a few chapters free before, but this appears to be the entire text -- if you are interested in education (fwhether for your kids or yourself or from the point of view of an educator or employer) and how it should be viewed in terms of preparing for being able to fit into the workplace later on (rather than graduating with >$100K in debt, but only being able to find a spot pulling espresso after graduation), you'll probably want to take a look.

Book Description
“The next twenty-five years offer an opportunity to transform the way students have learned for centuries. We will be able to deliver education to students where they are, based on their specific needs, desires, and backgrounds.”—Andrew S. Rosen

Imagine a university where programs are tailored to the needs of each student, the best professors are available to everyone, curriculum is relevant to the workplace – and the value of the education is demonstrable. In Change.edu, Andrew S. Rosen shows how that future is possible but in danger of being stifled by a system of incentives that emphasize prestige and tradition, rather than access and outcomes.

The U.S. higher education system has historically been considered one of the best in the world. This thought-provoking story presents the imperative for transforming that system for the 21st century and beyond. Rosen takes on the sacred cows of traditional higher education models, and calls on the country to demand the changes we need to build a qualified workforce and compete in a global economy. Change.edu is sure to open minds — and open doors to a wealth of opportunities.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from Sony.

Five Free Pre-Orders for Australians (Kindle)

Five more free pre-orders for Australians in the Kindle store (at least, until Harper catches it and fixes the prices). All of these are also discounted for those in the US, so I'm including the US price for anyone that wants to grab them. I don't expect any of them to end up free in the US or for them to remain free for long for those Down Under.

Every Which Way But Dead with Bonus Material ($1.99 US), by Kim Harrison

Book Description
For a limited time and at a reduced price, catch up with Rachel Morgan and the Hollow Series with Every Which Way But Dead at a special price! Also included is an exclusive sneak peek at Kim Harrison's new novel, Perfect Blood, available February 21st.

In Every Which Way But Dead, witch and former bounty hunter Rachel Morgan's managed to escape her corrupt company, survive living with a vampire, start her own runner service, and face down a vampire master.

But her vampire roommate Ivy is off the wagon, her human boyfriend Nick is out of town indefinitely and doesn't sound like he's coming back while the far-too-seductive vampire Kisten is looking way too tempting, and there's a turf war erupting in Cincinnati's underworld.

And there's a greater evil still. To put the vampire master behind bars and save her family, Rachel made a desperate bargain and now there's hell to pay--literally. For if Rachel cannot stop him, the archdemon Algaliarept will pull her into the sorcerous ever-after to forfeit her soul as his slave. Forever.

A Dream of Stone & Shadow ($1.99 US), a novella by Marjorie M. Liu, 2006 Nominee for the PRISM award, originally published in the anthology Dark Dreamers.

Book Description
There are those who do terrible things in this world, and those who simply watch. Charlie would do neither. Imprisoned, his only release is through his own destruction—or through Aggie Durand. Sweet as a kiss or a rescued child, she is the one dream he does not dare desire. As an agent of Dirk & Steele, she could be his salvation. Today, Charlie's dream is waking.

Devil's Bride with Bonus Material ($0.99 US), by Stephanie Laurens

Book Description
Where it all began. . . The Cynsters!

When Devil, the most infamous member of the Cynster family, is caught in a compromising position with plucky governess Honoria Wetherby, he astonishes the entire town by offering his hand in marriage. No one dreamed this scandalous rake would ever take a bride. And as society mamas swooned at the loss of England's most eligible bachelor, Devil's infamous Cynster cousins began to place wagers on the wedding date.

But Honoria wasn't about to bend society's demands and marry a man "just" because they'd been found together virtually unchaperoned. No, she craved adventure, and while solving the murder of a young Cynster cousin fit the bill for a while, she decided that once the crime was solved she'd go off to see the world. But the scalding heat of her unsated desire for Devil soon had Honoria craving a very different sort of excitement. Could her passion for Devil cause her to embrace the enchanting peril of a lifelong adventure of the heart?

Now with special bonus material, including Q&As with the author and a sneak peek at other books by Stephanie Laurens!

Sharpe's Christmas (n/a US), by Bernard Cornwell

Book Description
A Richard Sharpe short story, featuring scenes of action and adventure at Christmas.

Christmas, 1813, towards the end of the Peninsular War…

‘You’ll like Irati,’ Colonel Hogan said. ‘It’s a nothing place, Richard. Hovels and misery, that’s all it is and all it ever will be, but that’s where you’re going for Christmas.

’Because maybe the French were going there. The garrison planned to march at Christmas in the hope that their enemies would be too bloated with beef and wine to fight, but Hogan had got wind of their plans and was now setting his snares on the only two routes that the escaping French could use. One, the eastern road, was by far the easier route, for it entered France through a low pass, and Hogan guessed it was that route that the French would choose. But there was a second road, a tight, hard, steep road, and that had to be blocked as well and so the Prince of Wales’s Own Volunteers, Sharpe’s regiment, would climb into the hills and spend their Christmas at a place of hovels and misery called Irati.

There would be no getting bloated with beef and wine for Sharpe and his regiment this Christmas.

Steve Jobs: American Genius ($4.99 US), by Amanda Ziller

Book Description
Book description to come.

Free Book (Kindle) - The Flinch

The Flinch (US/UK), by Julien Smith, is free to pre-order in the Kindle store. This is from the Amazon Domino Project, so I don't expect to see the ebook in other stores. This one may remain free (at least, it appears that way from the description), but other Domino Project titles have risen in price after the pre-order period had expired.

Book Description
A book so important we refuse to charge for it.

Julien Smith has delivered a surprise, a confrontation, a book that will push you, scare you and possibly stick with you for years to come.

The idea is simple: your flinch mechanism can save your life. It shortcircuits the conscious mind and allows you to pull back and avoid danger faster than you can even imagine it’s there.

But what if danger is exactly what you need?

What if facing the flinch is the one best way to get what you want?

Here’s a chance to read the book everyone will be talking about, before they do.

What are you afraid of? Here's how to find out.

Free Book (Kindle/iBooks) - Shimmer (UK)

Shimmer (Main/UK), by Amanda Roberts, is free for UK customers in the Kindle store and from iTunes. This is the first of a planned series of novels very, very loosely based on the BBC show Strictly Come Dancing. Despite the publisher being shown as Harper, I don't think this one will be available at all for US readers.

Book Description
A 100% official Strictly Come Dancing novel, featuring the dancers, stars and judges you love!

What if an ordinary girl's Strictly dreams became a glittering reality?

Meet Amanda Roberts: a production runner on the set of Strictly Come Dancing, desperate to fit into the world of the dazzling and the beautiful. And when she discovers all the backstage drama, Amanda wonders if she is tough enough to survive.But then things start to change…

And incredibly she finds more GLITZ, more MAGIC and more ROMANCE than she could possibly have imagined.

Prepare to be dazzled as you tango into the glamour and mayhem of the world behind the glitter ball.

PREPARE TO BE SHIMMERED!

Get the free book from iTunes (UK).

Free Book (Kindle/nook/EPUB) - Freedom From the Lies You Tell Yourself

Update: 12/5/11 Now free from Barnes & Noble, Sony and ChristianBook.

Freedom From the Lies You Tell Yourself, by Marie Chapian and William Backus, is free in the Kindle store, courtesy of Christian publisher Bethany House.

Book Description
Wrong thinking produces unhealthy emotions, unhealthy reactions, unhealthy behavior --and unhappiness!

Learning to deal with your thoughts is the first step on the road to healthy thinking. In this book Dr. William Backus and Dr. Marie Chapian explain the life-changing method they call "Misbelief Therapy." It's remarkably simple, incredibly effective, and thoroughly biblical. It has helped thousands of people for many years, and it can help you too!

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble..
Get the free ebook from ChristianBook.
Get the free ebook from Sony.

Free Book (Kindle/nook/noDRM) - The English Heiress

The English Heiress, the first title in the Heiress series by Roberta Gellis, is free in the Kindle store and from AllRomance and Barnes & Noble, as well as from the publisher, Ellora's Cave. This is from their Blush imprint, so sensual romance only, not erotica. Despite the crazy prices in print (from Cerridwen Press), you can get the rest of this series and her Dynasty series at $1.49/title in the Kindle store.

Book Description
Leonie de Conyers’ life had been destroyed by the French Revolution. Her mother and brother died in the prison where she had been raped and starved for no greater crime than her father’s title. And her father died in an escape engineered by a stranger who claimed he had come to bring her to England where she would inherit the property and wealth of an uncle. Did Leonie dare to believe in such altruism? Roger St. Eyre’s life had been destroyed by the girl he fell passionately in love with. Solange did not love him; she was selfish and vicious and extravagant. By the time she died, Roger felt dead himself. Perhaps he was hoping for the peace death brings when he set out to wrest his old friend Henry de Conyers from the murderous grip of the French Revolution. Instead, Roger and Leonie found love and reasons to live—if they could escape exposure to the revolutionary fanatics and their favorite toy, the guillotine.

Get the free ebook from AllRomance.
Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from Ellora's Cave.

Today's Deals

All but one of yesterday's UK only Kindle freebies are now free in the US and all but two of those are also free for nook readers:

• Over Fields of Fire (Kindle)
• Insights from Remarkable Businesspeople (Kindle)
• The Open Innovation Marketplace (Kindle/nook)
• The Culture Cycle (Kindle/nook)
• Firms of Endearment (Kindle/nook)
• The Christmas Bus (Kindle/nook)

Narrows Gate ($1.99), by Jim Fusilli, is today's Kindle Deal of the Day.

Book Description
In the years surrounding World War II, a gritty Italian-American waterfront community in the shadow of New York City known as Narrows Gate is home to brutal wise guys, a gifted crooner hell bent on success and two young friends who have no idea what the future holds — or how it can rip them apart. Vivid characters driven by demons and desire clash with gut-wrenching force in Jim Fusilli’s violent, visceral novel as crime, rank ambition and the promise of the American dream battle for the souls of Bebe Marsala, the talented but compromised crooner; the happy-go-lucky Sal Benno, who is trapped by the mob; and Leo Bell, a newly minted member of the Office of Strategic Services, the predecessor of the CIA. A powerful epic in the spirit of such groundbreaking works as Mario Puzo’s The Godfather and Budd Schulberg’s On the Waterfront, Fusilli’s saga races to Hollywood, Havana, Las Vegas and the battlefields of Sicily before it explodes in an unexpected and unforgettable conclusion.

Bone & Cane ($1.54 / £0.99 UK), the first title in a new series by David Belbin, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (no US edition).

Book Description
Nottingham, 1997. Sarah Bone, Labour MP, is about to face the election battle of her life. At least she's had some good publicity. On the night Sarah celebrates the overturning of Ed Clark's conviction for murdering a policeman and his wife - her personal triumph - he sexually assaults her and brags that he did kill them, and more. As the murdered policeman's sister Polly Bolton demands justice, Sarah's obsession with the case deepens. Is she responsible for a terrible injustice?

Nick Cane is fresh out of the same prison as Ed Clark, having served five years for growing wholesale amounts of cannabis in the caves beneath his old flat. A former teacher and political activist, Nick was the love of Sarah Bone's life when they met at university, but they haven't seen each other for thirteen years. Nick's only career option now is to drive a cab (illegally) for his brother's firm, where he discovers Ed Clark again, this time as a colleague, and has a love affair with Polly Bolton. Nick has a mystery of his own eating away at him: who told the police about his dope-growing operation five years ago?

The old chemistry still sparks as Nick reconnects with Sarah. Can an MP keep her relationship with an ex-con hidden from the media as together they attempt to expose Ed Clarke's guilt?

Touch of Frost ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), the first title in the Mythos Academy series by Jennifer Estep, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle. You can still get the prequel short story for this young adult urban fantasy series, First Frost, for free. I've been considering this one on and off since picking up Spider's Bite, the first title in the adult urban fantasy series, Elemental Assassin, earlier this year when it was on sale.

Book Description
My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Academy -- a school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody's head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spartan guy in school, also happens to be the deadliest.

But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jasmine Ashton was murdered in the Library of Antiquities. Then, someone stole the Bowl of Tears, a magical artifact that can be used to bring about the second Chaos War. You know, death, destruction and lots of other bad, bad things. Freaky stuff like this goes on all the time at Mythos, but I'm determined to find out who killed Jasmine and why – especially since I should have been the one who died …

Free Book (Kindle/iBooks) - Open Season

Open Season, the first title in the Joe Gunther Mysteries series by Archer Mayor, is free on Kindle courtesy of backlist publisher Gere Donovan Press. A more recent entry in the series, Chat (#18), is $1.99 from Grand Central Publishing (Hatchette), so you should consider grabbing that one as well.

Open Season
Lt. Joe Gunther of the Brattleboro, Vermont police force has a serious problem: in a community where a decade could pass without a single murder, the body count is suddenly mounting. Innocent citizens are being killed—and others set-up—seemingly orchestrated by a mysterious ski-masked man. Signs suggest that a three year-old murder trial might lie at the heart of things, but it’s a case that many in the department would prefer remained closed. A man of quiet integrity, Lt. Gunther knows that he must pursue the case to its conclusion, wherever it leads.

Open Season is the first of Archer Mayor’s Joe Gunther novels, a series of gripping police procedurals set in New England, where small-town charm, stoicism and civility sometimes conceal brutal truths.

Chat
Intriguing plots, complex characters, and a vivid landscape are the foundation of Archer Mayor's award-winning New England thrillers. Now in this suspenseful new novel two investigations will lead Mayor's popular hero Joe Gunther to the shady realm of Internet chat rooms, where relationships are formed and broken, and nothing is as it seems.

News travels fast in the small state of Vermont. In this tight-knit society, police officers and investigators proudly maintain a kinship that transcends the boundaries of their jurisdictions. When an unidentified body is found in the peaceful town of Brattleboro, local police and the Vermont Bureau of Investigation both appear at the scene.

But before investigator Joe Gunther can begin to gather evidence of murder, a family emergency sends him to his hometown, where the lives of his mother and brother have suddenly been threatened. Gunther reaches out to a network of police officers who know him only by name and reputation as he attempts to discover the source of this imminent danger.

Meanwhile, his investigative team chases an elusive murderer who has no apparent ties to the victim. In a state that is more like a neighborhood community, secrets are difficult to keep, and it's sometimes impossible to know who can be trusted. Gunther soon finds himself opposing criminals more menacing than any he has ever encountered in order to save those he holds closest to his heart.

Get the free ebook from iTunes.

Free Book (Kindle) - Over Fields of Fire

Update: 12/5/11 Now free for US Kindle customers.

Over Fields of Fire: Flying the Sturmovik in Action on the Eastern Front 1942-45 (Soviet Memories of War) (US/UK), by Anna Timofeeva-Egorova, is free for UK customers in the Kindle store. It may end up free for those in the US by morning (but double check the price before one-clicking), but I haven't seen enough from this publisher to do more than guess (but it is available in the US with the same ASIN, so it should cross over).

Book Description
During the 1930s the Soviet Union launched a major effort to create a modern Air Force. That process required training tens of thousands of pilots. Among those pilots were larger numbers of young women, training shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts. A common training program of the day involved studying in 'flying clubs' during leisure hours, first using gliders and then training planes. Following this, the best graduates could enter military schools to become professional combat pilots or flight navigators. The author of this book passed through all of those stages and had become an experienced training pilot when the USSR entered the war.

Volunteering for frontline duty, the author flew 130 combat missions piloting the U2 biplane in a liaison squadron. In the initial period of the war, the German Luftwaffe dominated the sky. Daily combat sorties demanded bravery and skill from the pilots of the liaison squadron operating obsolete, unarmed planes. Over the course of a year the author was shot down by German fighters three times but kept flying nevertheless.

In late 1942 Anna Egorova became the first female pilot to fly the famous Sturmovik (ground attack) plane that played a major role in the ground battles of the Eastern Front. Earning the respect of her fellow male pilots, the author became not just a mature combat pilot, but a commanding officer. Over the course of two years the author advanced from ordinary pilot to the executive officer of the Squadron, and then was appointed Regimental navigator, in the process flying approximately 270 combat missions over the southern sector of the Eastern Front initially (Taman, the Crimea) before switching to the 1st Belorussian Front, and seeing action over White Russia and Poland.

This is a quite unique story of courage, determination and bravery in the face of tremendous personal adversity. The many obstacles Anna had to cross before she could fly first the Po-2, then the Sturmovik, are recounted in detail, including her tough work helping to build the Moscow Metro before the outbreak of war. Above all, Over Fields of Fire is a very human story - sometimes sad, sometimes angry, filled with hope, at other times with near-despair, abundant in comradeship and professionalism – and never less than a large dose of determination!

Free Book (Kindle/nook) - The Open Innovation Marketplace

Update: 12/5/11 Now free for US Kindle customers and from Barnes & Noble.

The Open Innovation Marketplace: Creating Value in the Challenge Driven Enterprise (US/UK), by Alpheus Bingham and Dwayne Spradlin, is free for UK customers in the Kindle store. It should be free for those in the US by morning (but double check the price before one-clicking).

Book Description
The Open Innovation Marketplace introduces groundbreaking strategies and models for leveraging the world’s best innovation sources to drive far more value from new products, services, and business models–and do it with far less risk.

Alpheus Bingham and Dwayne Spradlin draw on their pioneering experience building InnoCentive, the leading global platform for open innovation. Writing for CxOs, R&D leaders, and innovation strategists, they show how to dramatically increase the flow of high-value innovations, access innovators you would never hire internally, and successfully integrate external innovation throughout your business.

Through illustrative case studies, Bingham and Spradlin demonstrate open innovation at work in pharmaceuticals, consumer products, software, aeronautics, and beyond. They show how to construct “challenges” that focus innovation on critical business needs, can attract breakthrough strategies and solutions, and how to transform your enterprise to do it over and over again.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.

Free Book (Kindle/nook) - The Culture Cycle

Update: 12/5/11 Now free for US Kindle customers and from Barnes & Noble.

The Culture Cycle: How to Shape the Unseen Force that Transforms Performance (US/UK), by James Heskett, is free for UK customers in the Kindle store. It should be free for those in the US by morning (but double check the price before one-clicking).

Book Description
The contribution of culture to organizational performance is substantial and quantifiable. In The Culture Cycle, renowned thought leader James Heskett demonstrates how an effective culture can account for up to half of the differential in performance between organizations in the same business. A follow-up to the classic Corporate Culture and Performance (coauthored with John Kotter), this book explains how culture evolves, can be shaped and sustained, and can promote both survival and innovation in tough times.

Drawing on decades of field research and dozens of case studies, Heskett introduces a powerful conceptual framework for managing culture and shows it at work in a real-world setting. Heskett's "culture cycle" identifies policies, practices, and behaviors that are crucial to moving cultures forward and demonstrates how to calculate the economic value of culture through the "Four Rs": referrals, retention, returns to labor, and relationships with customers.

Heskett's insights will be invaluable to leaders, professionals, and consultants in HR, productivity, training, and operations--and for anyone seeking to optimize organizational performance.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.

Free Book (Kindle) - Insights from Remarkable Businesspeople

Update: 12/5/11 Now free for US Kindle customers.

Insights from Remarkable Businesspeople (US/UK), a collection of business shorts from FT press, is a repeat freebie for UK customers in the Kindle store. It should be free for those in the US by morning (but double check the price before one-clicking).

Book Description
A brand new collection of essential insights for your business and career from world-renowned experts...now in a convenient e-format, at a great price!

Get it straight from the top: secrets only the world’s best leaders can tell you!

What it takes to lead your team to greatness! Outstanding leaders tell you how to identify and fix even the biggest problems...get buy-in that’s real...balance external customers and internal processes...infuse creativity throughout your organization, and reinvent its future...get results, not salutes!

From world-renowned leaders and experts, including Captain D. Michael Abrashoff, Jim Champy, Fred Wiersema, Dean LeBaron, Michael F. Golden, Gary Hirshberg, and many more.

Free Book (Kindle) - Chips, Clones, and Living Beyond 100 (UK)

Chips, Clones, and Living Beyond 100: How Far Will the Biosciences Take Us? (US/UK), by Joyce A. Schoemaker and Paul J. H. Schoemaker, is a repeat freebie for UK customers in the Kindle store. It should be free for those in the US by morning (but double check the price before one-clicking).

Book Description
The key scientific discoveries of the 21st century are coming from the biosciences. These discoveries will impact our lives in ways we can only begin to imagine. Now, two leading experts will help you imagine those impacts--and prepare for them. Paul and Joyce Schoemaker preview the research innovations most likely to emerge in the coming years and reveal what they’re likely to mean for everything from human longevity to the health of society, from bioterrorism to personalized medicine.

Writing for every interested citizen and consumer, the Schoemakers illuminate the hottest technologies and most controversial issues associated with contemporary biotechnology--including stem cells, cloning, pharmacogenetics, DNA chips, proteomics, gene therapy, and much more. Then, drawing on Paul Schoemaker’s unsurpassed experience helping global organizations prepare for the future, the authors sketch multiple long-term scenarios for the biosciences…and reveal how they will impact your health, family, career, and the society you live in.

Free Book (Kindle/nook) - Firms of Endearment

Update: 12/5/11 Now free for US Kindle customers and from Barnes & Noble.

Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose (US/UK), by Jagdish N. Sheth, Rajendra S. Sisodia and David B. Wolfe, is a repeat freebie for UK customers in the Kindle store. It should be free for those in the US by morning (but double check the price before one-clicking).

Book Description
Today’s best companies get it. From Costco® to Commerce Bank, Wegmans to Whole Foods®: they’re becoming the ultimate value creators. They’re generating every form of value that matters: emotional, experiential, social, and financial. And they’re doing it for all their stakeholders. Not because it’s “politically correct”: because it’s the only path to long-term competitive advantage.

These are the Firms of Endearment. Companies people love doing business with. Love partnering with. Love working for. Love investing in. Companies for whom “loyalty” isn’t just real: it’s palpable, and driving unbeatable advantages in everything from marketing to recruitment.

You need to become one of those companies. This book will show you how. You’ll find specific, practical guidance on transforming every relationship you have: with customers, associates, partners, investors, and society. If you want to be great–truly great–this is your blueprint.

We’re entering an Age of Transcendence, as people increasingly search for higher meaning in their lives, not just more possessions. This is transforming the marketplace, the workplace, the very soul of capitalism. Increasingly, today’s most successful companies are bringing love, joy, authenticity, empathy, and soulfulness into their businesses: they are delivering emotional, experiential, and social value—not just profits.

Firms of Endearment illuminates this, the most fundamental transformation in capitalism since Adam Smith. It’s not about “corporate social responsibility”: it’s about building companies that can sustain success in a radically new era. It’s about great companies like IDEO and IKEA®, Commerce Bank and Costco®, Wegmans and Whole Foods®: how they earn the powerful loyalty and affection that enables truly breathtaking performance.

This book is about gaining “share of heart,” not just share of wallet. It’s about aligning stakeholders’ interests, not just juggling them. It’s about building companies that leave the world a better place. Most of all, it’s about why you must do all this, or risk being left in the dust... and how to get there from wherever you are now.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.

Free Book (Kindle/nook/EPUB) - The Christmas Bus

Update: 12/6/11 No longer free on Kindle or from B&N
Update: 12/5/11 Now free from Sony and ChristianBook.
Update: 12/5/11 Now free for US Kindle customers and from Barnes & Noble.

The Christmas Bus (US/UK), by Melody Carlson, is a repeat freebie for UK customers in the Kindle store, courtesy of Christian publisher Revell. It should be free for those in the US by morning (but double check the price before one-clicking).

Book Description
The people of Christmas Valley always celebrate Christmas to the fullest extent. The mayor plays Santa, every business is holiday themed, and there's a nativity for the kids each Christmas Eve. This town knows Christmas.

But this year nothing goes according to plan. Shepherd's Inn is full of strangers, Mad Myrtle is causing problems, and a young couple with a baby due any minute rolls in to the middle of town in their Partridge Family-style bus. It's hardly the holiday Christmas Valley wanted--but it may be just what they need. This charming novella is sure to become a new Christmas tradition for readers who love a great holiday story.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from ChristianBook.
Get the free ebook from Sony.

Two Free Audiobooks from ChristianAudio

ChristianAudio has two titles free this month! They are also having their semi-annual $7.49 sale, with nearly every title there marked down until Dec. 9.

From Pearl Harbor to Calvary ($4.95 Kindle), by Mitsuo Fuchida, narrated by Karl Choi, is the first free audiobook for December.

Book Description
Mitsuo Fuchida was a Captain in the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service who is perhaps best known for leading the first air wave attacks on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Fuchida was responsible for the coordination of the entire aerial attack working under the overall fleet commander Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo.

After World War II ended, Fuchida became an evangelist, Christian preacher and frequently traveled to the United States to minister to the Japanese expatriate community. He became a United States citizen in 1966. His autobiography was originally released in 1953, and this edition will be published to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 2011.

Bonus! Includes interviews with Florence DeShazer and Jacob DeShazer.

A Christmas Carol ($9.95 Audible), by Charles Dickens, narrated by Simon Vance, is the second free title this month.

Book Description
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman and Hall and first released on 19 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visitations of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Yet to Come. The novella met with instant success and critical acclaim.

The book was written and published at a time when Britain was experiencing a nostalgic interest in its forgotten Christmas traditions, and at the time when new customs such as the Christmas tree and greeting cards were being introduced. Dickens' sources for the tale appear to be many and varied but are principally the humiliating experiences of his childhood, his sympathy for the poor, and the Christmas stories of Washington Irving.

The tale was pirated immediately, was adapted several times to the stage, and has been credited with restoring the holiday to one of merriment and festivity in Britain and America after a period of sobriety and somberness. A Christmas Carol remains popular, has never been out of print, and has been adapted to film, opera, and other media.

Get the free audio downloads HERE and scroll down the page for the $4.98 discounted titles for this month. The checkout process is very streamlined (a coupon code is no longer required), as is the download process (no longer do you have to download each part of the book separately). You can also send a gift download of the free audiobook to someone else!

After finishing your order, download a zip file with the entire audiobook: select MP3 if you want to be able to play the book on your Kindle (M4B for the iOS, iTunes or QuickTime). Unzip the contents to the \audiobooks directory on your Kindle (not \music) in order to have audiobook controls and see it on your Kindle home page.

Today's Deals

Sorry for being so late today, been busy and just now had time to put together a few posts.

eHarlequin is having a weekend sale, with 50% off ebooks using coupon code HALFEBOOK11, plus an additional 40% off of featured Carina Press titles (expires Dec 4).

For those using EPUB's, there are several new coupon codes at Kobo this weekend, with discounts up to 35% off (see sidebar at right for list). Fictionwise's Weekly coupon code is 120211; good for 40% off this weekend and most likely won't truly expire until Tues/Wed next week.

Today is the last day to take advantage of this KSO deal:

• Save $50 on select strollers

Additional formats on free books:

• A Victorian Christmas (Kindle/nook/EPUB)
• A**holeology (Kindle/nook)
• Great Wines Under $20 (Kindle/nook)
• The Everything Healthy Cooking for Parties (Kindle/nook)
• The Strategy of Satan (Kindle/nook)
• The Holiness of God (Kindle US)

Stirred (Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels Mysteries) ($0.99), by Blake Crouch and J.A. Konrath , is today's Kindle Deal of the Day.

Book Description
This Bonus Content Edition includes an authors' introduction, afterword interview between J.A. Konrath and Blake Crouch, a linked cast of characters and storyline endnotes, and more!

Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels has seen humanity at its most depraved and terrifying. She's lost loved ones. Come close to death countless times. But she always manages to triumph over evil. Luther Kite is humanity at its most depraved and terrifying. He's committed unthinkable acts. Taken human life for the sheer pleasure of it. He is a monster among monsters, and no one has ever caught him. Each is the best at what they do. Peerless. Unmatched.

Until now...

In Luther's experience, people are weak. Even the strong and fearless break too easily. He wants a challenge, and sets his depraved sights on Jack. But with a baby on the way, Jack is at her most vulnerable. She's always been a fighter, but she's never had so much to fight for. So he's built something especially for Jack. His own, private ninth circle of hell - a nightmare world in a forgotten place, from which no one has ever escaped.

It's J.A. Konrath's greatest heroine versus Blake Crouch's greatest villain in Stirred, the stunning conclusion to both Konrath's Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels thriller series and Crouch's Andrew Z. Thomas series.

Only one can survive. And it won't be whom you think.

In a Strange Room ($1.53 / £0.99 UK), Damon Galgut's 2010 Man Booker Prize shortlisted novel, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US Edition is $9.99, published by Penguin).

Book Description
A young man takes three journeys, through Greece, India and Africa. He travels lightly, simply. To those who travel with him and those whom he meets on the way, including a handsome, enigmatic stranger, a group of careless backpackers and a woman on the edge, he is the Follower, the Lover and the Guardian. Yet, despite the man's best intentions, each journey ends in disaster. Together, these three journeys will change his whole life.

A novel of longing and thwarted desire, rage and compassion, In a Strange Room is the hauntingly beautiful evocation of one man's search for love, and a place to call home.

How to Be an Adult in Relationships ($8.61 Kindle, $3.99 B&N), by David Richo and Kathlyn Hendricks, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
"Most people think of love as a feeling," says David Richo, "but love is not so much a feeling as a way of being present." In this book, Richo offers a fresh perspective on love and relationships—one that focuses not on finding an ideal mate, but on becoming a more loving and realistic person. Drawing on the Buddhist concept of mindfulness, How to Be an Adult in Relationships explores five hallmarks of mindful loving and how they play a key role in our relationships throughout life.

When deeply understood and applied, these five simple concepts—what Richo calls the five A's—form the basis of mature love. They help us to move away from judgment, fear, and blame to a position of openness, compassion, and realism about life and relationships. By giving and receiving these five A's, relationships become deeper and more meaningful, and they become a ground for personal transformation.

Free Book - Blue Limbo

Blue Limbo ($5.99 Kindle), the second of two in the Mitch Helwig series by Terence M. Green, is this month's free book from Phoenix Pick. Sneaky, as once you get to the free download page, there will be a link to buy Barking Dogs ($6.99 Kindle), the first in the series, for $1.99. I know I'd pick it up at that price, but I grabbed it last year, when they had it for free.

Book Description
Mitch Helwig is a cop on the edge, “a man who’s gone through the valley of the shadow and hasn’t quite made it out the other side” (Toronto Globe & Mail). Vengeance and heroism, the subtleties of family woven into the metaphysics of life and death, all come together here in a page-turner, “a near-future tech-noir thriller” (SF Site) that moves at breakneck speed.

Click HERE for the free book from Phoenix Pick. You'll need to scroll down to find the book's listing, then click on "FREE EBOOK of the Month", then enter coupon code 9991437. Click thru the next page and then scroll down and get the format of your choice. They are DRM-free, so you can convert to other formats, if desired.

Phoenix Pick is also giving you 35% off all their books when bought direct from their website using the DIRDEC coupon throughout the month of December. They already give 15% off their suggested retail list prices when buying direct and the discount stacks on top of that. Also, their books are DRM-free. You do have to choose a format (EPUB or MOBI), but can convert if needed (the Mobi doesn't need converting before mailing to a Kindle).

Free Book (Kindle/nook/EPUB) - A Victorian Christmas

Update: 12/5/11 Now free from Sony.
Update: 12/4/11 Now free for US Kindle customers and from Barnes & Noble and ChristianBook.

A Victorian Christmas (US/UK), an anthology by Catherine Palmer, is free for UK customer in the Kindle store, courtesy of Christian publisher Tyndale House. I expect this one to be free in the use by morning.

Book Description
A beautiful patchwork of four novellas about love and joy at Christmastime by best selling author Catherine Palmer. These four novellas were previously published in four anthologies—A Victorian Christmas Quilt, A Victorian Christmas Tea, A Victorian Christmas Cottage, and A Victorian Christmas Keepsake. Return to a time when life was uncomplicated, faith was sincere … and love was a gift to be cherished forever. Includes author’s favorite holiday recipes.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from ChristianBook.
Get the free ebook from Sony.

Free Book (Kindle/nook/EPUB) - The Strategy of Satan

Update: 12/5/11 Now free from Sony and ChristianBook.
Update: 12/4/11 Now free for US Kindle customers and from Barnes & Noble.

The Strategy of Satan: How to Detect and Defeat Him (US/UK), by Warren Wiersbe, is free to pre-order for UK customer in the Kindle store, courtesy of Christian publisher Tyndale House. I expect this one to be free in the use by morning.

Book Description
Dr. Wiersbe zeroes in on Satan's attacks as deceiver, destroyer, ruler, and accuser. He emphasizes that conquering the enemy comes by obeying God's truth.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from ChristianBook.
Get the free ebook from Sony.

Four Free Short Stories by Joe R. Lansdale (Kindle/iBooks)

Four free short stories by Joe R. Lansdale are free in the Amazon store and from iTunes, courtesy of small publisher Gere Donovan Press. This US publisher specializes in bringing backlist titles back as ebooks, scanning paperbooks into ebook form for authors who don't have electronic editions (including at least two read-throughs to check for OCR errors). It looks like they are also publishing some short stories, as well as full novels, such as Dana Stabenow's backlist (two of which are still free Fire and Ice and Second Star).

Incident On and Off a Mountain Road (Kindle/iTunes)

Book Description
"Easing her back against a tree trunk, she sat and listened, watching for that strange face, fearing it might abruptly burst through the limbs and brush, grinning its horrible teeth, or worse, that he might come up behind her, reach around the tree trunk with his knife and finish her in a bloody instant."

“Incident On and Off a Mountain Road” is one of Joe Lansdale’s most popular and terrifying short stories. Adapted for television, it appeared as an episode of Showtime’s Masters of Horror series.

Bullets and Fire (Kindle/iTunes)

Book Description
"Dad told me once, that if people don't care about where they live, the way they act, people they associate with, they get lost in the dark, can't find their way back cause there's no light left. I had taken a pretty good step into the shadows tonight." It's payback time, in this short story by Joe R. Lansdale.

The Steel Valentine (Kindle/iTunes)

Book Description
“Even before Morley told him, Dennis knew things were about to get ugly. A man did not club you unconscious, bring you to his estate and tie you to a chair in an empty storage shed out back of the place if he merely intended to give you a valentine. Morley had found out about him and Julie.”

A short story in the tradition of Fleming or Dahl, “The Steel Valentine” is a gem, exemplifying the suspense writing of Joe Lansdale.

Tight Little Stitches in a Dead Man's Back (Kindle/iTunes)

Book Description
They did it — they launched the damned nukes and the world went pretty much straight to hell. Not many survived, but some of those who did emerged twenty years later, to a world where mutant whales heaved themselves across the blackened, dry seabed of the Pacific, and the roses… oh God, the roses.

“Tight Little Stitches in a Dead Man’s Back” is a chilling post-nuclear short story by Joe R. Lansdale.

Free Short Story (Kindle) - Cursed (UK)

Cursed: A Jack Nightingale Short Story (US/UK), by Stephen Leather, is free for UK customers in the Kindle store. It doesn't look like this one will cross over to the US store (although his short story Inspector Zhang Gets His Wish is still free for those in the US). Those in the UK can also get his novel Hard Landing: The First Spider Shepherd Thriller for $0.78/£0.49 (Hodder has it set to $8.66 for those in the US).

Cursed: A Jack Nightingale Short Story (US/UK)
A Jack Nightingale supernatural short story. Ex-cop turned private eye Jack Nightingale is used to dealing with tricky situations. He's faced down the powers of hell a couple of times, too. Then he's called in to help a policeman who's lying at death's door. The doctors can't work out what's wrong. But the dying man's colleagues swear blind that he was cursed by a gypsy during the Dale Farm clearance. And Nightingale could be his only hope.

Inspector Zhang Gets His Wish (US/UK)
Inspector Zhang loves mysteries, but as a Detective Inspector with the Singapore Police Force he knows that mysteries are few and far between. There are relatively few crimes in the city state and those that are committed are usually solved quickly. But that all changes when Inspector Zhang is called to a top Singapore hotel where a guest has been found murdered in a locked room. The guest made a phone call to room service shortly before he was killed - but CCTV footage shows that nobody entered or left the room. So finally Inspector Zhang has his wish - a mystery to solve. But will it be too much for him?

Hard Landing: The First Spider Shepherd Thriller (US/UK)
Hard Landing is the first book in the best-selling Dan ‘Spider’ Shepherd series. Former SAS trooper Shepherd is used to putting his life on the line. Working for an elite undercover squad he has lied, cheated and conned in order to bring Britain’s most wanted criminals to justice.

But when a powerful drug baron starts to kill off witnesses to his crimes, Shepherd is given his most dangerous assignment yet. He has to go undercover in a top security prison, a world where one wrong move will mean certain death.As Shepherd gambles everything to move in on his quarry, he soon realises that the man he is hunting is even more dangerous than the police realise. And that he is capable of striking outside the prison walls and hitting Shepherd where it hurts most – his family.

Free Book (Kindle/EPUB) - The Holiness of God

Update: 12/5/11 Now free from Sony.
Update: 12/4/11 Now free for US Kindle customers.

The Holiness of God (US/UK), by R. C. Sproul, is free for UK customer in the Kindle store, courtesy of Christian publisher Tyndale House. I expect this one to be free in the use by morning, but not to stay free more than a day or two.

Book Description
Central to God’s character is the quality of holiness. Yet, even so, most people are hard-pressed to define what God’s holiness precisely is. Many preachers today avoid the topic altogether because people today don’t quite know what to do with words like “awe” or “fear.” R. C. Sproul, in this classic work, puts the holiness of God in its proper and central place in the Christian life. He paints an awe-inspiring vision of God that encourages Christian to become holy just as God is holy. Once you encounter the holiness of God, your life will never be the same.

Revised in 1997, The Holiness of God has sold almost 200,000 copies since it was first released in the 1980s.

Get the free ebook from Sony.

Save $5 at Amazon (KSO)

This offer is only for those with a Kindle with Special Offers:

Save $5 on a $10 Amazon.com purchase

Click on offer, then click on the link on the offer page to receive an email with the promotion code. Sign-up for this offer expires on December 6.

You'll get an email (right away), a link to the Special Offer details page and a promotion code to enter at checkout. Once you have the promotional code, you have until January 6, 2012. to complete your purchase. Like previous offers, this one requires you to use the full checkout process in order to enter your promotional code. Also, like all Amazon sales that use promotional codes, if you have a gift card balance, you must use it for the payment (if there is not a sufficient balance, then you can pick which credit card or other payment to use).

Limit one offer per customer and per device.

This one works on any physical purchase of goods "sold by" Amazon.com, other than Gift Cards. I can't imagine that you can't find at least one thing to use it on between now and the end of the year. You can go ahead and enter the promo code early (stick anything in your cart, start checkout and enter the code, hit apply, then just close the window), if you are afraid you'll forget about it before it expires - Amazon actually keeps track of the code and will use it on the next order that it would apply to (but, still, you need to use the full check out process).

Today's Deals

Additional formats on free books:

• Laugh-Out-Loud Jokes for Kids (Kindle/nook/EPUB)

Glorious Pasta of Italy ($1.99), by Domenica Marchetti, is today's Kindle Deal of the Day.

Book Description
Celebrating pasta in all its glorious forms, author Domenica Marchetti draws from her Italian heritage to share a uniquely personal collection of more than 100 timeless and modern rustic recipes. Pasta is a welcome addition to any dinner table and this gorgeous cookbook includes many favorites from her own family as well as those she has adapted from prominent Italian chefs, including crespelle baked with pork and spinach, ravioli stuffed with four cheeses, lamb ragU over saffron tagliatelle, and cappelletti 'hats' simmering in a savory broth. Additional information includes advice on equipment and ingredients plus recipes for making fresh pasta and using dried pasta. A pasta shape glossary helps the reader tell the difference between pastas like fettucine and tagliolini.

The Secrets of Pain ($1.53 / £0.99 UK), the eleventh and latest in the Merrily Watkins series by Phil Rickman, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (no US edition).

Book Description
INTRODUCING MERRILY
Merrily Watkins, parish priest, single mother, exorcist, works for the Diocese of Hereford in a remote village on the border of England and Wales. Like many men and women doing an essentially medieval job in an increasingly secular society, she's never certain how much she can permit herself to believe. It doesn't help that she sometimes has to work with psychiatrists and the police. Or that her employer, the Church of England, is far from free of prejudice, sexism, greed and corruption. Or that Merrily's teenage daughter is more interested in paganism than the priesthood. No wonder she smokes. No wonder she occasionally lapses into language hard to find in the Bible.

THE SECRETS OF PAIN
The elite warriors of the Hereford-based SAS know all about pain and the enduring of it. Syd Spicer, ex-SAS trooper, has found himself back the Regiment - this time as its chaplain, responsible for the spiritual welfare of the hardest men in or out of uniform. Faced with a case which would normally be passed discreetly to Hereford diocesan exorcist Merrily Watkins, Spicer is forced, for security reasons, to try and handle it himself...and is coming close to a breakdown. Meanwhile, the scattered communities along the Welsh border have their own crisis. With recession biting deep, urban crime has spilled into the countryside and old barbaric evils are revived. When a wealthy landowner is hacked to death in his own farmyard, the senior investigating officer, DI Frannie Bliss is caught in the backlash, his private life in danger of exposure. With the framework of her own world beginning to crack, Merrily Watkins is persuaded to venture into areas where neither a priest nor a woman is welcome...to unearth secrets linked with the border's pagan past. Secrets which she knows can never be disclosed.

Virtual History: Alternatives And Counterfactuals ($3.75 Kindle, B&N), by Niall Ferguson, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
Speculative history at its best, in which a talented team of historians, led by Niall Ferguson, explore what might have happened if nine momentous events had turned out differently.

What if there had been no American War of Independence? What if Hitler had invaded Britain? What if Kennedy had lived? What if Russia had won the Cold War? Niall Ferguson, author of the highly acclaimed The Pity of War, leads the charge in this historically rigorous series of separate voyages into "imaginary time" and provides far-reaching answers to these intriguing questions.

Ferguson's brilliant 90-page introduction doubles as a manifesto on the methodology of counter-factual history. His equally masterful afterword traces the likely historical ripples that would have proceeded from the maintenance of Stuart rule in England. This breathtaking narrative gives us a convincing, detailed "alternative history" of the West-from the accession of "James III" in 1701, to a Nazi-occupied England, to a U.S. Prime Minister Kennedy who lives to complete his term.

Free Book (Kindle/nook/EPUB) - The Everything Healthy Cooking for Parties

Update: 12/5/11 Now free from Sony.
Update: 12/3/11 Now free from Barnes & Noble.

The Everything Healthy Cooking for Parties, by Linda Larsen, is free in the Kindle store.

Book Description
With a third of Americans on a diet at any given time, planning party menus can be a challenge for any hostess. Veteran cookbook author Linda Larsen has the solution! She offers you healthy cooking tips and delicious party-food recipes with your health in mind. Her recipes include lots of fruits and vegetables and low-fat ingredients like turkey bacon and tofu, so the foods are good for you and taste great! You will find many festive recipes: Cantaloupe Punch; High-Fiber Cashew Pear Bread; Low-Fat Turkey Swiss Sandwiches; Lemon Meringue Crunch Trifle; and more! With this book, you will discover that party food doesn't have to be bad for you. And that's reason enough to throw parties more often!

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from Sony.

Free Book (Kindle/nook/EPUB) - Great Wines Under $20

Update: 12/5/11 Now free from Sony.
Update: 12/3/11 Now free from Barnes & Noble.

Great Wines Under $20, by Elyse Luray, is free in the Kindle store.

Book Description
Great Wines Under $20 offers select wines (100 red, 100 white) from around the world and organized by type: Chardonnay, Riesling; Merlot, Shiraz, etc., with suggested food pairings. Elyse Luray writes in clear and simple language, avoiding the arcane "wine-speak" that many beginning wine buyers find intimidating. The handy and portable size makes it an essential reference, whether browsing the local wine shop or ordering online. A color-coded index provides handy icons that quickly identify food pairings — beef, chicken, fish, pasta, salad, etc., and the perfect wineglasses and tips from experts.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from Sony.

Free Book (Kindle/nook/EPUB) - A**holeology

Update: 12/5/11 Now free from Sony.
Update: 12/3/11 Now free from Barnes & Noble.

A**holeology, by Steven B. Green, Dennis Lavalle and Chris Illuminati, is free in the Kindle store.

Book Description
Steve Carrell--the Pretend Asshole
Ari Gold--the Hollywood Asshole
Simon Cowell--the Trying-Too-Hard Asshole
Mickey Rourke--the Reformed Asshole
Barney Stintson--the True Asshole

To truly be an asshole is an art form. It requires the perpetrator to be cocky yet quietly confident, snide as well as sincere, sneaky while in your face. Better men than most have failed miserably. That's why there's this guide--the first book to walk you through the tricks of the trade and the numerous benefits the attitude reaps.

You will find essential information on how to sharpen your prick skills. Whether you're way too over-the-top and need to tone it down, or are a shy wallflower who needs to turn it up, this book is your crash course in assholeology. You will now be able to get everything you ever wanted--in work, love, and life--by being an asshole.

It's every guy's handbook on how to be an asshole, without getting a black eye.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from Sony.

Free Book (Kindle/EPUB) - Getting Sassy

Update: 12/5/11 Now free from Sony.

Getting Sassy, by D.C. Brod, is free in the Kindle store.

Book Description
With her nearly broke and practically homeless mother about to land on her doorstep, Robyn Guthrie learns that desperation can play havoc with a daughter’s scruples.

Get the free ebook from Sony.

Free Book (nook) - Needle in a Haystack

Needle in a Haystack ($8.99 Kindle), the first title in the Inspector Lascano series by Ernesto Mallo and Jethro Soutar (translator), is this week's Free Friday book from Barnes & Noble.

Book Description
Superintendent Lascano is a detective working under the shadow of military rule in Buenos Aires in the late 1970s. Sent to investigate a double murder, he arrives at the crime scene to find three bodies. Two are clearly the work of the Junta's death squads, murders he is forced to ignore; the other one seems different.

The trail leads Lascano through a decadent Argentina, a country poisoned to its core by the tyranny of the regime. The third corpse turns out to be that of Biterman, moneylender and Auschwitz survivor. When Lascano digs too deep, he must confront Giribaldi, an army major, quick to help old friends but ruthless in dealing with dissenters such as Eva, the young militant with whom Lascano is falling in love.

Born in 1948, Ernesto Mallo is a published essayist, newspaper columnist, screenwriter, and playwright. He is a former anti-Junta militant who was pursued by the dictatorship. Needle in a Hay Stack is his first novel and the first in a trilogy with superintendent Lascano. The first two are being made into films.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.

Free Book (Kindle/nook/EPUB) - Laugh-Out-Loud Jokes for Kids

Update: Also free from Barnes & Noble and ChristianBook.

Laugh-Out-Loud Jokes for Kids, by Rob Elliott, is free in the Kindle store.

Book Description
What happens to race car drivers when they eat too much? They get indy-gestion. Laugh-Out-Loud Jokes for Kids provides children ages 7-10 many hours of fun and laughter. Young readers will have a blast sharing this collection of hundreds of one-liners, knock knock jokes, tongue twisters, and more with their friends and family! This brand new book will have children rolling on the floor with laughter and is sure to be a great gift idea for any child.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from ChristianBook.

Free Book (ADE-EPUB) - Instructions for American Servicemen in France during World War II

Instructions for American Servicemen in France during World War II ($7.38 Kindle), by The United States Army and Rick Atkinson, is this month's free book from The University of Chicago Press.

Book Description
“You are about to play a personal part in pushing the Germans out of France. Whatever part you take—rifleman, hospital orderly, mechanic, pilot, clerk, gunner, truck driver—you will be an essential factor in a great effort.”

As American soldiers fanned out from their beachhead in Normandy in June of 1944 and began the liberation of France, every soldier carried that reminder in his kit. A compact trove of knowledge and reassurance, Instructions for American Servicemen in France during World War II was issued to soldiers just before they embarked for France to help them understand both why they were going and what they’d find when they got there. After lying unseen in Army archives for decades, this remarkable guide is now available in a new facsimile edition that reproduces the full text and illustrations of the original along with a new introduction by Rick Atkinson setting the book in context.

Written in a straightforward, personal tone, the pamphlet is equal parts guidebook, cultural snapshot, and propaganda piece. A central aim is to dispel any prejudices American soldiers may have about the French—especially relating to their quick capitulation in 1940. Warning soldiers that the defeat “is a raw spot which the Nazis have been riding” since the occupation began, Instructions is careful to highlight France’s long historical role as a major U.S. ally. Following that is a brief, fascinating sketch of the French character (“The French are mentally quick;” “Rich or poor, they are economical”) and stark reminders of the deprivation the French have endured under occupation. Yet an air of reassuring confidence pervades the final section of the pamphlet, which reads like a straightforward tourists’ guide to Paris and the provinces—like a promise of better days to come once the soldiers complete their mission.

Written by anonymous War Department staffers to meet the urgent needs of the moment, with no thought of its historical value, Instructions for American Servicemen in France during World War II nevertheless brings to vivid life the closing years of World War II—when optimism was growing, but a long, demanding road still lay ahead.

Sign up for the free book from the University of Chicago. You'll need to enter your email address, then check your email for the link to download the book. Mine arrived within seconds -- you get a .ACSM file, which, when opened, will load the PDF book inside of Adobe ADE. This is a DRM'd PDF and is not compatible with the Kindle.

While you are there, check out their The Great Chicago Book Sale! 600 books with prices starting at $5! Use promo code AD9626