

Textbook Revolution:  364 modern free texts - keenerd
http://textbookrevolution.org/index.php?title=Special:Ask&offset=0&limit=500&q=%5B%5BCategory%3ABook%5D%5D&po=%3FAuthor%0A

======
quizbiz
My Economics Professor at Emory writes:

    
    
      One might argue that authors have fewer incentives
      to write good textbooks if the expectation is that
      they should be made available for free.
    
      One way around this is advertizement financing; 
      and if you download [our] micro textbook, you'll 
      see that its full of ads targeted at students! 
      This a small price to pay for the zero sale price, 
      but the book itself is not the highest quality. 
      Nonetheless, it is a useful reference.

------
roundsquare
Am I just behind or are there a surprisingly high number of free textbooks
online recently?

I wonder how this is affecting/going to affect the textbook industry.

------
harpastum
Why's it's not technically what most people would consider a 'textbook,' I'm
surprised _Why's (poignant) Guide to Ruby_ isn't there. I would recommend it
to anyone interested in a solid (yet quirky) introduction to Ruby. It's
license is CC-Share-Alike, so it clearly fits under the category of 'free.'

You can find it online here: <http://mislav.uniqpath.com/poignant-guide/>

or buy the paperback ($6+shipping) here:
[http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-
book/whys-(poignant)-g...](http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-
book/whys-\(poignant\)-guide-to-ruby/7739507)

------
Chocobean
My Physics professor* uses one of the textbooks listed there. It's a very
entertaining book, well outlined, informative and teaches in a way that
inspires you to look at our physical world rather than "plus number into
formula to receive answer."

And the free price tag is highly welcome.

*I'm taking 1st year remedial physics because it's been too long and my previous credits no longer count etc.

~~~
hughprime
Which textbook are you talking about?

I have a moderate hatred for most entry-level physics textbooks, which manage
to pad about 100 pages' worth of information into a thousand-page tome full of
glossy photographs in order to justify the $100+ price tag. So if there are
any good free texts that would be great.

~~~
Chocobean
sorry for late reply. Book one, Newtonian Physics from
<http://www.lightandmatter.com/>

------
hughprime
Since I had a look at a couple of them, I suppose I might as well provide
reviews.

"Introduction to Proofs and the Mathematical Vernacular" -- this is actually
pretty good, and I kinda wish I'd had a copy of it at the start of my
university mathematical education, if only to teach me what the hell a "Lemma"
was, exactly. It's also fun to read.

"21st Century Physics Flexbook" -- very odd. Admittedly intended as a K-12
textbook rather than a university-level textbook, but not much of a way to
learn physics even for the kids. Virtually no mathematics whatsoever, let
alone calculus. A random grab-bag of topics from "gravitation" (with an
attempt to explain relativity which would be more confusing than enlightening)
to "nanoscience" and "biomedical imaging". Basic mechanics finally comes in at
the end as an afterthought. Not recommended to anyone.

------
mnemonicsloth
The book on Abstract Algebra looks really good:

[http://www.math.uiowa.edu/~goodman/algebrabook.dir/algebrabo...](http://www.math.uiowa.edu/~goodman/algebrabook.dir/algebrabook.html)

It's written in the vernacular.

It opens with a chapter full of concrete stuff -- patterns and symmetries --
that's obviously useful in a lot of different fields.

It draws a bright line between the important results and the extra stuff you
wind up knowing as a byproduct of working through the extension problems. (I'm
looking at you, Artin.)

------
keenerd
Incidentally, I already had eight of these books in my reading list. Of those
eight, I have read three cover to cover. They were really good. One percent is
not a sufficient sample size, but I have high hopes for the remaining 361
titles.

~~~
mnemonicsloth
_... I have read three cover to cover. They were really good._

Which ones?

Endorsements > Statistics

------
ujjwalg
Are these copyright free textbooks? I am curious to how this free textbook
thing works. There are so many free textbook projects going around the world.
Can anyone use the content, reference the content and use it for commercial
purpose?

~~~
keenerd
Table with licenses:
[http://textbookrevolution.org/index.php?title=Special:Ask...](http://textbookrevolution.org/index.php?title=Special:Ask&offset=0&limit=500&q=%5B%5BCategory%3ABook%5D%5D&p=format%3Dbroadtable&po=%3FAuthor%0A%3FLicense%0A)

So yes and no, depending on the book.

~~~
ujjwalg
That is great information. Also, when it says "GNU Free Documentation License"
does it mean that anyone can use the text for commercial purpose?

~~~
keenerd
Glad you like it. But I am an electrical engineer, not a lawyer. So...

[http://lmgtfy.com/?q=GNU+Free+Documentation+License&l=1](http://lmgtfy.com/?q=GNU+Free+Documentation+License&l=1)

------
wglb
This is a very good resource.

