Each Friday, Barnes & Noble offer select Nook Books for free. Please keep in mind that I am not personally recommending these books, just letting you know they are free. You do not need a Nook to read these books. You can read them on your computer or on the free Nook app.
A Short History of the World is a short and easy-to-read history book that relates the history of our world from the Big Bang to the present day. It assumes no prior knowledge of past events and 32 maps have been especially drawn to give the reader a better understanding of where events occurred.
The author chooses what he sees as the most important empires and events and links them to make a flowing narrative as opposed to a dry series of facts. Going through history, we learn how and when empires and nation states developed, how the major religions affected world history and the devastation they caused, how the Muslims and Chinese led development for many centuries, how the great explorers changed world history and how we finally came to understand the size of the planet on which we live.
Download: A Short History of the World
The Soup and Bread Cookbook aims to explore the social role of soup through a collection of terrific, affordable recipes from food activists, chefs, and others. This quirky exploration of the cultural history of soup as a tool for both building community and fostering social justice is the result of a brainstorm: eating your way through a pot of soup day after day can get boring — why not get together and swap some with friends? Now neighbors across the country are getting together regularly for home-based “soup swaps.” In Chicago, the arts collective InCUBATE uses soup as a microfunding tool. And of course, soup can be a political statement: the radical volunteers of Food Not Bombs have been providing free vegetarian soup to the hungry as a protest against war and social injustice since 1980. These are just a few examples of the stories Bayne wraps around a collection of delicious, accessible, and tested soup recipes.
Download: The Soup and Bread Cookbook