I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong is now on Kindle for $2.99. I’ve seen it on Kindle for $1.99, told you about it, and maybe you bought it then. But if you didn’t, …

Since we are on the topic of cheap books, here’s another one of interest, a book I read years ago and liked so I assume you will like too. Robert Massie produced a number of what I think are pretty good historical biographies, and one of them is Peter the Great: His Life and World. This book was published quite a while back, so maybe revisionism in history has made it less relevant, but I’ thinking not. Anyway, it is $2.99 in Kindle form, so for pretty cheap you can learn about the Russian Czar who collected and bred giants and dwarfs, made significant advances in dental torture, spent many a lazy Sunday afternoon personally carrying out beheading on behalf of the government, stole to the low countries to secretly learn how to make boats, and who brought Russia into the modern era.

Massie also wrote Nicholas and Alexandra: The Classic Account of the Fall of the Romanov Dynasty, Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman, Dreadnought: Britain, Germany, and the Coming of the Great War, and The Romanovs: the Final Chapter, so you can get your fill of British White Culture History but all very well written.

What you might not know is that Massie was originally drawn into this historical foray because his own son was born with hemophilia, as was Czar Nichols’s son. Massie and his significant other wrote about this in two books: Journey and A Song in the Night: A Memoir of Resilience. The son, Bob Massie, is a social justice and climate change activist of note, and at the moment is is seeking the Democratic nomination for Governor of Massachusetts. I have no idea what the gubinitorial field looks like in the Bay State right now, but Massie is pretty impressive. (Added: OK, I just looked at the field, and they are all impressive.)

Also, as long as I’ve got your attention, right NOW and maybe for a very limited time you can get any of these iOS apps for free.

Have you read the breakthrough novel of the year? When you are done with that, try:

In Search of Sungudogo by Greg Laden, now in Kindle or Paperback
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