O que é este blog?

Este blog trata basicamente de ideias, se possível inteligentes, para pessoas inteligentes. Ele também se ocupa de ideias aplicadas à política, em especial à política econômica. Ele constitui uma tentativa de manter um pensamento crítico e independente sobre livros, sobre questões culturais em geral, focando numa discussão bem informada sobre temas de relações internacionais e de política externa do Brasil. Para meus livros e ensaios ver o website: www.pralmeida.org. Para a maior parte de meus textos, ver minha página na plataforma Academia.edu, link: https://itamaraty.academia.edu/PauloRobertodeAlmeida;

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Mostrando postagens com marcador BookBub. Mostrar todas as postagens
Mostrando postagens com marcador BookBub. Mostrar todas as postagens

sábado, 19 de dezembro de 2020

BookBub: livros sobre o nazismo, sobre o bolchevismo, sobre as misérias do século XX, estão sempre em evidência...

Letters and Dispatches: 1924–1944

 

Letters and Dispatches: 1924–1944
By Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul Wallenberg saved the lives of thousands of Jewish people in Nazi–occupied Hungary… and then vanished in Soviet hands. In this fascinating collection, discover Wallenberg’s story in his own words. “A revealing epistolary portrait of one of World War II’s most daring heroes and mysterious victims” (Kirkus Reviews).

Hitler’s American Friends
Hitler’s American Friends
By Bradley W. Hart
Before World War II, the Nazi party had many sympathizers within the United States. This harrowing history of Hitler’s American supporters “will interest anyone who wants to know how nationalist movements succeed or fail” (Publishers Weekly).

The Gestapo
The Gestapo
By Jacques Delarue
“Nuanced… A well-researched book that clarifies many misconceptions” (Kirkus Reviews): The Gestapo was one of the most fearsome weapons in Nazi Germany’s arsenal. Based on interviews with ex-Gestapo agents, this in-depth account reveals the chilling inside story of the monstrous organization.

terça-feira, 4 de junho de 2019

A Marcha da loucura: uma leitura indispensável

Não, não estou falando de realidades próximas de nós, ainda que o mesmo título serviria a tal propósito (em especial realidades muito próximas mesmo). As loucuras relatadas neste livro da grande historiadora Barbara Tuchman (já falecida, infelizmente, pois ela teria muito material na era Trump) terminam na "folia" (não no sentido carnavalesco, claro) do Vietnã, onde, por incrível que pareça, morreram menos americanos, DURANTE todo o conflito, do que brasileiros assassinados em apenas UM ano (mais de 65 mil).
Paguei menos de dois dólares o formato Kindle, nas ofertas diárias da BookBub (tentem vocês também, todos os dias tem uma oferta imperdível, ou pelo menos julgamos assim, em nossa folia por livros.
Paulo Roberto de Almeida
Brasília, 4 de junho de 2019 (D-Day, da libertação da Europa ocidental; a Europa oriental foi outra história, pois saiu de uma ditadura para outra)

The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam Kindle Edition

Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Barbara W. Tuchman, author of the World War I masterpiece The Guns of August, grapples with her boldest subject: the pervasive presence, through the ages, of failure, mismanagement, and delusion in government. 
 
Drawing on a comprehensive array of examples, from Montezuma’s senseless surrender of his empire in 1520 to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, Barbara W. Tuchman defines folly as the pursuit by government of policies contrary to their own interests, despite the availability of feasible alternatives. In brilliant detail, Tuchman illuminates four decisive turning points in history that illustrate the very heights of folly: the Trojan War, the breakup of the Holy See provoked by the Renaissance popes, the loss of the American colonies by Britain’s George III, and the United States’ own persistent mistakes in Vietnam. Throughout The March of Folly, Tuchman’s incomparable talent for animating the people, places, and events of history is on spectacular display.
 
Praise for The March of Folly
 
“A glittering narrative . . . a moral [book] on the crimes and follies of governments and the misfortunes the governed suffer in consequence.”—The New York Times Book Review
 
“An admirable survey . . . I haven’t read a more relevant book in years.”—John Kenneth Galbraith, The Boston Sunday Globe
 
“A superb chronicle . . . a masterly examination.”—Chicago Sun-Times

quinta-feira, 2 de outubro de 2014

Book Lovers Are Totally Obsessed With This Website: BookBub

Book Lovers Are Totally Obsessed With This Website

Last year, Random House quietly gave away Dan Brown’s bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code, for free for one week. Millions of readers were unaware of the week-long giveaway.
A select group of readers did take advantage of the promotion, though. They were using BookBub, a daily email that alerts readers to free and deeply discounted ebooks that are available for a limited time. BookBub notified nearly 1 million readers of the free Da Vinci Code deal last spring.
“It’s the Groupon of books,” Dominique Raccah, the publisher of Sourcebooks, told The New York Times about deal sites like BookBub. “For the consumer, it’s new, it’s interesting. It’s a deal and there isn’t much risk. And it works.”
Why did Random House give away a bestselling ebook that usually retails for $9.99? The company’s goal was to hook new readers on Brown’s thrillers and drum up interest in his new book, Inferno. The free ebook even included the prologue and first chapter of Inferno.
“It makes it almost irresistible,” Liz Perl, Simon & Schuster’s senior vice president explained to the The New York Times. “We’re lowering the bar for you to sample somebody new.”
Book lovers have now become practically obsessed with BookBub. In many cases, they’ve downloaded hundreds of books that publishers and authors have promoted on the site.
“I now have more books than I can read in a lifetime,” said Suzie Miller of Auburn, Wash. She said she has downloaded more than 350 free books using the service.
For readers, part of the appeal of BookBub is that it does not list every single free ebook on the market. Instead, BookBub’s expert editorial team selectively curates only the highest-quality ebooks to feature in their email and on their website. In most cases, the deals can be purchased for any ereading device, including Kindle, iPad, Nook, and Android.
Readers can select which genres they would like to receive, so each email is matched to their preferences. BookBub features more than two dozen genres of books, including mystery, romance, literary, historical fiction, nonfiction and more.
With millions of readers using BookBub’s service, this type of promotional concept seems to be resonating with both publishers and readers alike. To find out more about the service, go to www.bookbub.com.