Some interesting and different ePub3 Books

We have uploaded a number of free demonstration books in ePub3 and E0 formats.

It is important to have a variety of complete books in different genres available to highlight the features and capabilities of any format. More importantly these books are essential to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of current and emerging reading systems.

These are all reflowable E0 and ePub3 books and all of them are worth having in your e-library if you haven't already read them.

All of the books can be downloaded from the AZARDI resources library here.

1. The Art of War Sun Tzu

This is a bit of a worn-out "classic" but we gave it an ebook treatment with the section numbering and separation. It is completely "em styled" and uses the fonts the reading system is delivering. It should respond to font-family and sizing in an appropriate manner in all reading systems.

His message: "No long war ever profited any country: 100 victories in 100 battles is simply ridiculous. Anyone who excels in defeating his enemies triumphs before his enemy's threats become real" is a message that seems to be missing in some of todays politics.

Download The Art of War

2. Analects. Confucius

This is a mixed Chinese/English book. The original Gutenberg text is rather confusing. By applying block styling and text number highlights and colouring it becomes an easier, lighter and more informative read. The power of colour!

We put a parchment background in because we could. This works well in AZARDI but sadly will not work in any iBo!oks modes across the full viewport. The price of book chrome! Lack of viewport control is one of the prices you pay when your reading system has excessive interface chrome. This book makes agressive use of RGBA CSS properties.

3. The Prince. Nicolo Machiavelli

Staying with the political theme, The Prince by Machiavelli, like the Art of War is a great read for aspiring politicians and business leaders from the '90s. (Jeff Bezos has already read this of course.)

Possibly the greatest social influence made by this book was the fact it contributed to the modern negative connotations of the words "politics" and "politician" in western countries.

This edition is a plain read of Machiavellian content.

4. The Problems of Philosophy. Bertrand Russell

Bertrand Russell wanted everyone to understand philiosophy and in this book sets out to explain philosophy problems which can be addressed with positive and constructive dialogue rather than criticism.

Bertrand (as his friends call him), besides being one of the greatest logicians of the 20th Century, was a activist against anything totalitarian. Perhaps he should come back!

This is a straight-forward reflowable presentation of  an accessible intellectual work of outstanding value.

5. Everybody's Business is Nobody's Business. Daniel Defoe

A political books with a few twists. Absolutely essential reading for aspiring lord's of the manor. It is so important to have those servant know their place, stay there and not want too much of, well... anything.

From the title page "A Proposal for Amendment of the same; as also for clearing the Streets of those Vermin called Shoe–Cleaners, and substituting in their stead many Thousands of industrious Poor, now ready to starve. With divers other Hints of great Use to the Public."

Looks like we have finally arrived. History does repeat apparently.

6. Twelve Types. G.K. Chesterton.

This is a collection of analytical mini-biographies of significant influencers from across time and around the world. The content highly accessible and powerful.

Charlotte Brontë, William Morris, Byron, Pope, Francis of Assisi, Rostand, Charles II, Robert Louis Stevenson, Thomas Carlyle, Tolstoy, Savonarola and Sir Walter Scott.

The book has been enhanced with images and distinctive styling.

7. Impressions of Theophrastus Such

This is George Eliot's final work and is highly experimental fiction. It was first published in 1879. It was Eliot's last published writing and her most experimental, taking the form of a series of literary essays by an imaginary minor scholar whose eccentric character is revealed through his work.

A light touch of eccentric presentation matches the book theme.

  

8. The Efficiency Expert. Edgar Rice Burroughs

This is a standard novel  by Edgar Rice Burroughs that is not fantasy.  One of a small number of Burroughs' novels set in contemporary America as opposed to a fantasy universe (although there are those who would argue there is little difference).

The Efficiency Expert follows the adventures of Jimmy Torrance as he attempts to make a career for himself in 1921 Chicago surrounded by friends who are hard-core criminals

Written in 1919, it was first published in the October 1921 edition of the All-Story Weekly magazine.

How We Made Them

We started with the text manuscripts from the Gutenberg project.

Using Libre Office and some macros we processed the paragraphs, converted straight-quotes to smart quotes, double hyphens to em-dashes and underscore markers to italics.

Next we structure styled the manuscripts using the standard IGP:FoundationXHTML word-processor style patterns. This works in MS Word and Libre Office.

The completed manuscripts were imported into IGP:Digital Publisher and the titles were instantly ready for format generation. But we carried out the fine-tuning of font, sizes and colors was done using IGP:Document Designer, an interactive CSS layout tool built into IGP:Digital Publisher.

Of course metadata and other details were checked.

Get the books

All of these books can be downloaded from this AZARDI Resources page.

They are available in E0 (Ebook Zero) and ePub3.

 

Posted by Richard Pipe