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Did you know that the Library has a huge range of free ebooks – 200,000 and counting! – which you can either read online or download for up to seven days?
To get started, browse our latest selection of ebooks and watch this space for new additions. You can also scan the list of past Ebookshelf titles or browse for even more free ebooks !
For tips and advice, read our Get started guide or watch our video on using ebooks.
To access ebooks from home, you need to be a State Library member with a Victorian home address. (Terms and conditions of use apply.)
Diamonds and deadlines: a tale of greed, deceit and a female tycoon in the gilded age Diamonds and deadlines: a tale of greed, deceit and a female tycoon in the gilded age Betsy Prioleau
Abrams Press, 2022
The first major biography of the glamorous and scandalous Miriam Leslie, titan of publishing and an unsung hero of women's suffrage.
Among the fabled tycoons of the Gilded Age—Carnegie, Rockefeller, Vanderbilt—is a forgotten figure: Mrs. Frank Leslie. For twenty years she ran the country's largest publishing company, Frank Leslie Publishing, which chronicled postbellum America in dozens of weeklies and monthlies. A pioneer in an all-male industry, she made a fortune and became a national celebrity and tastemaker in the process.
Diamonds & deadlines reveals the unknown, sensational life of the brilliant and brazen 'empress of journalism,' who dropped a bombshell at her death: she left her entire multimillion-dollar estate to women's suffrage.
Reconciliation in divided societies: finding common ground Reconciliation in divided societies: finding common ground Erin Daly and Jeremy Sarkin
University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007
As societies emerge from oppression, war, or genocide, their most important task is to create a civil society strong and stable enough to support democratic governance. More and more conflict-torn countries throughout the world are promoting reconciliation as central to their new social order as they move toward peace and stability.
Until now there has been no real effort to understand exactly what reconciliation could mean in these different situations. What does true reconciliation entail? How can it be achieved? How can its achievement be assessed? This book digs beneath the surface to answer these questions and explain what the concepts of truth, justice, forgiveness, and reconciliation really involve in societies that are recovering from internecine strife.
The story of food in the human past: how what we ate made us who we are The story of food in the human past: how what we ate made us who we are Robyn E. Cutright
University Alabama Press, 2021
A sweeping overview of how and what humans have eaten in their long history as a species, The story of food in the human past: how what we ate made us who we are uses case studies from recent archaeological research to tell the story of food in human prehistory.
This fascinating study begins with a discussion of how food shaped humans in evolutionary terms by examining what makes human eating unique, the use of fire to cook, and the origins of cuisine as culture and adaptation through the example of Neandertals. The second part of the book describes how cuisine was reshaped when humans domesticated plants and animals and examines how food expressed ancient social structures and identities such as gender, class, and ethnicity. Cutright shows how food took on special meaning in feasts and religious rituals and also pays attention to the daily preparation and consumption of food as central to human society.
Protecting pollinators: how to save the creatures that feed our world Protecting pollinators: how to save the creatures that feed our world Jodi Helmer
Island Press, 2019
We should thank a pollinator at every meal. These diminutive creatures fertilize a third of the crops we eat. Yet half of the 200,000 species of pollinators are threatened. Birds, bats, insects, and many other pollinators are disappearing, putting our entire food supply in jeopardy. In North America and Europe, bee populations have already plummeted by more than a third and the population of butterflies has declined 31 percent. Protecting pollinators explores why the statistics have become so dire and how they can be reversed.
Homeland calling Edited by Ellen Van Neerven, foreword by Danzal Baker aka Baker Boy, artwork by Gamilaroi Yuwaalaraay artist Lakkari Pitt
Homeland calling is a collection of poems created from hip-hop song lyrics that channel culture and challenge stereotypes. Written by First Nations youth from communities all around Australia, the powerful words display a maturity beyond their years.
Edited by award-winning author and poet Ellen van Neerven, and brought to you by Desert Pea Media, the verses in this book are the result of young artists exploring their place in the world, expressing the future they want for themselves and their communities. These young people are the future, and their passion for their culture, languages and homelands is beyond inspiring.
Disability and the internet: confronting a digital divide Disability and the internet: confronting a digital divide Paul T. Jaeger
Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2011
A sweeping examination of the complex and often contradictory relationships between people with disabilities and the Internet.
Word for today Roly Sussex
University of Queensland Press. 2020
Did you know that the word salary comes from the Latin sal for ‘salt', since part of the payment to Roman soldiers was in salt? That braces and suspenders used to refer to different items of clothing? Or that trolls have migrated from fairy tales to online discussion forums? The English language is currently going through a period of tremendous ferment, growth and expansion. Old ‘rules' are being challenged or weakened. New ones are emerging. And mistakes and misuses are popping up with all the speed that the internet can provide.
For over two decades, linguist Roly Sussex has documented the nature and evolution of the English Language on his popular weekly ABC Radio program ‘Word for today'. For the first time, the best of these reflections on word origins, neologisms and misuses are collected in this witty and insightful book. With Word for today , you'll always have a word for tomorrow.
The kindness of strangers: tales of fate and fortune on the road The kindness of strangers: tales of fate and fortune on the road Edited by Don George
Lonely Planet, 2008
A timely collection of 26 inspiring tales, The kindness of strangers explores the unexpected human connections that so often transfigure and transform the experience of travel, and celebrates the gift of kindness around the world. Featuring stories by Jan Morris, Tim Cahill, Simon Winchester and Dave Eggers.
