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My desire to accumulate U.S. history books and biographies
has led me to some interesting sites. If you have ever done a Google search for
"free etext" you probably know about gutenberg.org, etext.virginia.edu,
arthursclassicnovels.com and other URL's. Want to find free etext books
in more sites? What many do not know is the availability of the three best
sites that allow you to download thousands of books in PDF format and a variety
of other formats. The three sites are archive.org, manybooks.net, and books.google.com.
Remember, most of these books were generally written long
before the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration so you will not find Gone
With The Wind or most of the other popular twentieth century writings.
My download files are generally made in txt and PDF format. If you are going to
use PDF format you will need to download Acrobat Reader 8.0 from adobe.com (it
is free). PDF format is my personal preference because the entire book is
digitized, including the cover. You have an image of the book just as it
appears on the shelf. The problems with PDF format are (1) you have to learn
how to use Acrobat Reader well and (2) you have to possess something better
than a dial-up modem system to make most of the downloads. Most of these books
are five to eighty-five megabits and it takes some time to download them.
The following details each site, explains what each provides and explains
how to search and download your choices.
Archive.org
This site appears to be sponsored by Microsoft Corporation in cooperation with
the University of California. There may be many more businesses and
universities involved but these are the ones that I have noticed.
There are three primary categories to search in this site
and then some minor ones. I will explain the three primary categories and allow
you to pursue the others on your own if they are needed. The first category is
"any field". In this category you can put any word or phrase that you
think may appear in the book. Remember this search might result in a lengthy
list of books and not just the one you are searching for. The second category
is "title". You must be sure to spell the title correctly and state
the title as published. The search will produce a broad list of books
sometimes, many of which were not exactly what you were looking for. The third
category is the search for the "author". This is the one that I
prefer but that is just my preference. Again watch your spelling.
After you select your book, there will be some choices on the left of the
screen where you can select one of the various formats available. Click on one
of these. If you click "PDF" an Acrobat Reader screen will appear and
in the bottom left of the screen will be a download progress indicator. When
the download is complete look at the tool bar above the book cover and click on
the small disk icon to the right of the printer icon. A screen will appear that
allows you to select your directory location. Make the selection and save the
book to your hard drive.
I need to add one last note about archive.org. This site has old movie films,
music recordings and free etext. Pay close attention to the selection you make
or you will end up listening to some concert of a rock band from the sixties.
Manybooks.net
This site has a couple of features, which might be useful to
a book addict. The books can all be downloaded in a very wide variety of
formats. These are not scanned books but are regenerated text, which is not
like having the original, but can save your sight if you do not want to deal with
print generated in the nineteenth century.
Manybooks.net has three search capabilities that can be used: author, title and
category (i.e. history, cooking, etc.). Click on anyone of the three and you
will see an alphabetical listing of what is available in anyone of the three
capabilities. If you prefer there is a search field in the upper right corner
that will search on either author or title and is faster.
Downloading from manybooks.net is easy. First you need to
select the format you need. They have a long list to choose from. If you have a
need for an unusual format, this is the place to download your book. Click on
"download" after you make your format selection. A screen will appear
that allows both a Windows download and a Mac download. I never use Mac so you
Mac users will have to be on your own at this point. The Windows download ask
you to click on the specific URL for the book requested. An Acrobat Reader
screen will appear if you chose the PDF format. The book cover and an index of
the first few chapters will appear. In the tool bar just above the book cover
there is small disk icon, the second from the left next to the printer icon.
Click on the icon and a screen appears that permits you to select your
directory for downloading the book.
Books.google.com
This site consists of books that have been digitized from libraries all over
the country. Google has a very wide selection of books to choose from. When a
book is downloaded you have multiple format choices to choose from.
There are basically three main types of searches made on this site. There are
others but you will find that most of your searches are focused on these three
methods. The first is the "author" search. Enter the full name that
is available to you, such as John S C Abbott for example. The second is a title
search that appears just above the "author" search. Enter the title
such as "Moby Dick". You can enter part of the title but you have to
be prepared for the list of books that the search will detect. The third search
is the capability to search within the book for certain words, phrases or parts
of a phrase. This search can be for (1) all the words, (2) exact phrase, (3) at
least one of the words or (4) without the words. A word search can be used in
conjunction with the title or author search (i.e. "Moby Dick" and
whale).
The Google book search includes both digitized copies of books, previews of
books and information about books available for sale. If you want the search to
include only the free etext, complete copies of the book, be sure and check the
"Full View" circle before you begin each search. Not checking the
"Full View" circle will cause you to review a long list of books not
available for download.
Downloading a book from Google is easy if you are familiar with a computer.
When you locate the book that you want to download there will be an entry at
top-right of the book such as "download PDF-XXM". You are being told
in advance how large the file is so you can determine if you wish to download.
Click on the word download and a download screen will appear if you have
Windows and your preferences are set. Click on "save to disk" and
"ok" and the download will begin. You will then be required by
Windows to direct your downloaded file to a specific directory. That choice is
yours.
A few last thoughts about downloading and saving books
I have downloaded about seven hundred books in PDF format
over the last two years. This format requires a high volume of disk space. For
this reason I have organized my books into directories that enable me to locate
the book I want and then transfer it to a CD. A CD will hold seven hundred meg
but the PDF format will use that much storage space very quickly.
I have emphasized the use of Acrobat Reader here. I have no particular affinity
for the Adobe Company but I have found this software to be excellent when
trying to find particular text or phrases in a book, viewing the book (font
size is important to us old folks) and "gee whiz, it's free". Good
luck on your downloads and I hope you find that rare book you have been looking
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