CONTENT: Selected Essays on Technology, Creativity, Copyright and the Future of the Future Cory Doctorow http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2883 urn:isbn:1892391813 en 2008 Non-Fiction Essay Collections Hailed by Bruce Sterling as “a political activist, gizmo freak, junk collector, programmer, entrepreneur, and all-around Renaissance geek,” the Internet’s favorite high-tech culture maven is celebrated with the first collection of his infamous articles, essays, and polemics. Irreverently championing free speech and universal access to information—even if it's just a free download of the newest Britney Spears MP3—he leads off with a mutinous talk given at Microsoft on digital rights management, insisting that they stop treating their customers as criminals. Readers will discover how America chose Happy Meal toys over copyright, why Facebook is taking a faceplant, how the Internet is basically just a giant Xerox machine, why Wikipedia is a poor cousin of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and how to enjoy free e-books. Practicing what he preaches, all of the author's books, including this one, are simultaneously released in print and on the Internet under Creative Commons licenses that encourage their reuse and sharing. He argues persuasively that this practice has considerably increased his sales by enlisting readers to promote his work. Accessible to geeks and nontechies alike, this is a timely collection from an author who effortlessly surfs the zeitgeist while always generating his own wave. Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2883.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2883.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2883.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2883.mobi The Machine Stops E. M. Forster http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2073 urn:isbn:0233991670 en 1909 Short Fiction Science Fiction The Machine Stops is a short science fiction story. It describes a world in which almost all humans have lost the ability to live on the surface of the Earth. Each individual lives in isolation in a 'cell', with all bodily and spiritual needs met by the omnipotent, global Machine. Most humans welcome this development, as they are skeptical and fearful of first-hand experience. People forget that humans created the Machine, and treat it as a mystical entity whose needs supersede their own. Those who do not accept the deity of the Machine are viewed as 'unmechanical' and are threatened with "Homelessness". Eventually, the Machine apocalyptically collapses, and the civilization of the Machine comes to an end. This work was published before 1923 and is in the public domain in the USA only. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2073.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2073.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2073.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2073.mobi The Adventures of Brigadier Gerard Arthur Conan Doyle http://www.feedbooks.com/book/366 urn:isbn:0940322730 en 1903 Novels History War This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70 and in the USA. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/366.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/366.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/366.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/366.mobi Tales of Old Japan Lord Redesdale http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2726 urn:isbn:0804833214 en 1871 Short Fiction History Collections Tales of Old Japan is an anthology of short stories, compiled by Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford, Lord Redesdale, writing under the better known name of A.B. Mitford. These stories focus on the varying aspects of Japanese life in centuries past. The book, which was written in 1871, is still regarded as an excellent introduction to Japanese literature and culture, by virtue of its ease of access and supplemental notes by the writer. Also included are the author's eyewitness accounts of a selection of Japanese rituals, ranging from the harakiri and marriage to a selection of sermons. This book had a lasting influence on the Western perception of Japanese history, culture and society, particularly because of just one widely known tale about samurai revenge. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70 and in the USA. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2726.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2726.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2726.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2726.mobi At the Mountains of Madness Howard Phillips Lovecraft http://www.feedbooks.com/book/26 urn:isbn:0345329457 en 1931 Novels Horror At the Mountains of Madness is a novella by horror writer H. P. Lovecraft, written in February/March 1931 and originally serialized in the February, March and April 1936 issues of Astounding Stories. It has been reproduced in numerous collections since Lovecraft's death. Lovecraft scholar S. T. Joshi describes the novella as representing the decisive "demythology" of the Cthulhu Mythos by reinterpreting Lovecraft's earlier supernatural stories in a science fiction paradigm. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/26.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/26.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/26.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/26.mobi Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow Jerome Klapka Jerome http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2182 urn:isbn:1843911604 en 1886 Essay Collections Humor/Satire This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70 and in the USA. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2182.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2182.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2182.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2182.mobi Three Men in a Boat Jerome Klapka Jerome http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2173 en 1889 Novels Humor/Satire Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog), published in 1889, is a humorous account by Jerome K. Jerome of a boating holiday on the Thames between Kingston and Oxford. The book was initially intended to be a serious travel guide, with accounts of local history along the route, but the humorous elements took over to the point where the serious and somewhat sentimental passages seem a distraction to the comic novel. One of the most praised things about Three Men in a Boat is how undated it appears to modern readers, the jokes seem fresh and witty even today. The three men are based on Jerome himself (the narrator J.) and two real-life friends, George Wingrave (who went on to become a senior manager in Barclays Bank) and Carl Hentschel (the founder of a London printing business, called Harris in the book), with whom he often took boating trips. The dog, Montmorency, is entirely fictional, but "as Jerome admits, developed out of that area of inner consciousness which, in all Englishmen, contains an element of the dog." The trip is a typical boating holiday of the time in a Thames camping skiff. This is just after commercial boat traffic on the Upper Thames had died out, replaced by the 1880s craze for boating as a leisure activity. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70 and in the USA. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2173.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2173.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2173.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2173.mobi 2 B R O 2 B Kurt Vonnegut http://www.feedbooks.com/book/912 en 1962 Short Fiction Science Fiction Humor/Satire 2 B R 0 2 B is a satiric short story that imagines life (and death) in a future world where aging has been “cured” and population control is mandated and administered by the government. Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/912.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/912.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/912.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/912.mobi Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions Edwin Abbott Abbott http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1596 urn:isbn:048627263X en 1884 Novels Philosophy Science Humor/Satire Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions is an 1884 science fiction novella by the English schoolmaster Edwin Abbott Abbott. As a satire, Flatland offered pointed observations on the social hierarchy of Victorian culture. However, the novella's more enduring contribution is its examination of dimensions; in a foreword to one of the many publications of the novella, noted science writer Isaac Asimov described Flatland as "The best introduction one can find into the manner of perceiving dimensions." As such, the novella is still popular amongst mathematics, physics and computer science students. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70 and in the USA. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1596.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1596.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1596.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1596.mobi Richard III William Shakespeare http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3045 urn:isbn:190427109X en 1591 History Plays Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. The play is an unflattering depiction of the short reign of Richard III of England. While generally classified as a history, as grouped in the First Folio, the play is sometimes called a tragedy (as in the first quarto). It picks up the story from Henry VI, Part 3 and concludes the historical series that stretches back to Richard II. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3045.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3045.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3045.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3045.mobi Invaders from the Infinite John Wood Campbell http://www.feedbooks.com/book/844 urn:isbn:1603120491 en 1961 Novels Science Fiction The alien spaceship was unthinkably huge, enormously powerful, apparently irresistible. It came from the void and settled on Earth, striking awe into the hearts of all who saw it. Its burden, however, was not conquest -- but a call for help! First contact was a job for the brilliant team of scientists, Arcot, Wade, and Morey,explorers of the Islands of Space. And what they learned was an offer of an alliance against an invading foe so powerful that no known force could turn them back! Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/844.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/844.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/844.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/844.mobi The Door Through Space Marion Zimmer Bradley http://www.feedbooks.com/book/835 urn:isbn:1603120475 en 1961 Novels Science Fiction ... across half a Galaxy, the Terran Empire maintains its sovereignty with the consent of the governed. It is a peaceful reign, held by compact and not by conquest. Again and again, when rebellion threatens the Terran Peace, the natives of the rebellious world have turned against their own people and sided with the men of Terra; not from fear, but from a sense of dedication. There has never been open war. The battle for these worlds is fought in the minds of a few men who stand between worlds; bound to one world by interest, loyalties and allegiance; bound to the other by love. Such a world is Wolf. Such a man was Race Cargill of the Terran Secret Service. Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/835.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/835.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/835.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/835.mobi A Princess of Mars Edgar Rice Burroughs http://www.feedbooks.com/book/80 urn:isbn:0345331389 en 1912 Novels Science Fiction A Princess of Mars is an Edgar Rice Burroughs science fiction novel, the first of his famous Barsoom series. It is also Burroughs' first novel, predating his Tarzan stories. He wrote it between July and September 28, 1911, going through four working titles; initially, he was going to call it My First Adventure on Mars, then The Green Martians, Dejah Thoris, Martian Princess, and finally Under the Moons of Mars. The finished story was first published under the last of these titles in All-Story as a six-part serial in the issues for February-July 1912. For the serial publication, the author's name was given as "Norman Bean"; Burroughs had chosen the pseudonym of "Normal Bean" as a type of pun stressing that he was in his right mind, being concerned he might suffer ridicule for writing such a fantastic story. The effect was spoiled when a typesetter changed "Normal" to "Norman" on the assumption that the former was a typographical error. The story was later published as a complete novel under the present title by A. C. McClurg in October 1917. Full of swordplay and daring feats, the story is considered a classic example of 20th century pulp fiction. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+50 or in the USA (published before 1923). http://www.feedbooks.com/book/80.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/80.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/80.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/80.mobi The Poison Belt Arthur Conan Doyle http://www.feedbooks.com/book/352 en 1913 Novels Science Fiction The Poison Belt was the second story, a novella, that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about Professor Challenger. Written in 1913, roughly a year before the outbreak of World War I, much of it takes place--rather oddly, given that it follows The Lost World, a story set in the jungle--in a room in Challenger's house. This would be the last story written about Challenger until the 1920s, by which time Doyle's spiritualist beliefs had begun to affect his writing. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70 and in the USA. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/352.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/352.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/352.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/352.mobi The Lost World Arthur Conan Doyle http://www.feedbooks.com/book/67 urn:isbn:0812564839 en 1912 Novels Adventure The Lost World is a novel released in 1912 by Arthur Conan Doyle concerning an expedition to a plateau in South America where prehistoric animals (dinosaurs and other extinct creatures) still survive. The character of Professor Challenger was introduced in this book. Interestingly, for a seminal work of dinosaur-related fiction, the animals only occupy a small portion of the narrative. Much more time is devoted to a war between early human hominids and a vicious tribe of ape-like creatures. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70 and in the USA. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/67.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/67.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/67.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/67.mobi The Land of Mist Arthur Conan Doyle http://www.feedbooks.com/book/353 en 1926 Novels Science Fiction Heavily influenced by Doyle's growing belief in Spiritualism after the death of his son, brother, and two nephews in World War I, the book focuses on Edward Malone's at first professional, and later personal interest in Spiritualism. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/353.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/353.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/353.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/353.mobi The Disintegration Machine Arthur Conan Doyle http://www.feedbooks.com/book/354 urn:isbn:1406591181 en 1928 Short Fiction Science Fiction Professor Challenger is arguing with people who are persistently calling him on the telephone when his young friend Malone, a reporter for the Gazette, enters and requests Challenger accompany him to inspect the discovery of Theodore Nemor, who claims to have invented a machine capable of disintegrating objects. Skeptical of the invention, Challenger accepts Malone's proposal and accompanies him to the house of Nemor. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/354.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/354.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/354.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/354.mobi The Shadow out of Time Howard Phillips Lovecraft http://www.feedbooks.com/book/29 urn:isbn:0967321530 en 1934 Short Fiction Science Fiction Horror "The Shadow Out of Time" indirectly tells of the Great Race of Yith, an extraterrestrial species with the ability to travel through space and time. The Yithians accomplish this by switching bodies with hosts from the intended spatial or temporal destination. The story implies that the effect when seen from the outside is similar to spiritual possession. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/29.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/29.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/29.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/29.mobi Metropolis Thea von Harbou http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1123 urn:isbn:1592249787 en 1927 Novels Science Fiction This is Metropolis, the novel that the film's screenwriter -- Thea von Harbou, who was director Fritz Lang's wife, and a collaborator in the creation of the film -- this is the novel that Harbou wrote from her own notes. It contains bits of the story that got lost on the cutting-room floor; in a very real way it is the only way to understand the film. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+50. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1123.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1123.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1123.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1123.mobi A Fighting Man of Mars Edgar Rice Burroughs http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1214 urn:isbn:0345345118 en 1930 Novels Science Fiction A Fighting Man of Mars is an Edgar Rice Burroughs science fiction novel, the seventh of his famous Barsoom series. Burroughs began writing it on February 28, 1929, and the finished story was first published in Blue Book Magazine as a six-part serial in the issues for April to September, 1930. It was later published as a complete novel by Metropolitan in May, 1931. The story is purportedly relayed back to earth via the Gridley Wave, a sort of super radio frequency previously introduced in Tanar of Pellucidar, the third of Burrough's Pellucidar novels, which thus provides a link between the two series. The story-teller is Ulysses Paxton, protagonist of the previous novel, The Master Mind of Mars, but this story is not about him; rather, it is the tale of Tan Hadron of Hastor, a lowly, poor padwar (a low-ranking officer) who is in love with the beautiful, haughty Sanoma Tora, daughter of Tor Hatan, a minor but rich noble. As he is only a padwar, Sanoma spurns him. Then Sanoma Tora is kidnapped, and the novel moves into high gear. (From Wikipedia) This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+50. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1214.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1214.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1214.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1214.mobi