Archive for June 2012
Free Classics: Ben-Hur; a tale of the Christ by Lewis Wallace
June 8, 2012 | 
Author Every Friday, Marilyn Knapp Litt, who blogs at ClassicKindle.com, brings us her recommendation of a free classic book to discover (or rediscover) on Kindle. Find more of Marilyn’s recommendations at her blog, ClassicKindle.com, a guide to the best free and inexpensive classic literature for the Kindle. You can also get Marilyn’s blog on Kindle and I recommend that you “Like” the Classic Kindle Facebook page as well so you don’t miss anything. Here’s Marilyn’s post:
Ben-Hur; a tale of the Christ by Lewis Wallace or as I was taught growing up in Indiana, Ben Hur by Lew Wallace, a famous American Civil War general. This 1880 novel was the best selling American novel until displaced by a book about the Civil War – Gone with the Wind published in 1936.
Lew Wallace was one of many celebrated Indiana authors, a state that at one time seemed to produce more authors than any other. (Can you tell I am a proud Hoosier?)
“I am a Bethlehemite,” said Joseph, in his most deliberate way. “Is there not room for–”
“There is not.”
“You may have heard of me–Joseph of Nazareth. This is the house of my fathers. I am of the line of David.” These words held the Nazarene’s hope. If they failed him, further appeal was idle, even that of the offer of many shekels. To be a son of Judah was one thing–in the tribal opinion a great thing; to be of the house of David was yet another; on the tongue of a Hebrew there could be no higher boast.
I hope I am not giving away the story to say that he finds somewhere to spend the night.
Later on (this is a long book,) we come to young Ben
“Well, Messala always had his share of the disagreeable quality. When he was a child, I have seen him mock strangers whom even Herod condescended to receive with honors; yet he always spared Judea. For the first time, in conversation with me to-day, he trifled with our customs and God. As you would have had me do, I parted with him finally. And now, O my dear mother, I would know with more certainty if there be just ground for the Roman’s contempt. In what am I his inferior? Is ours a lower order of people? Why should I, even in Caesar’s presence; feel the shrinking of a slave? Tell me especially why, if I have the soul, and so choose, I may not hunt the honors of the world in all its fields? Why may not I take sword and indulge the passion of war? As a poet, why may not I sing of all themes? I can be a worker in metals, a keeper of flocks, a merchant, why not an artist like the Greek? Tell me, O my mother–and this is the sum of my trouble–why may not a son of Israel do all a Roman may ?”
The book is known as a popular success and not a critical success. Does that make it a bad book? You decide . . .
Click here to get your free copy of Ben-Hur; a tale of the Christ by Lewis Wallace
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Today’s Kindle Daily Deal — Friday, June 8 – Two Great Reads for 99 Cents each — Save 78% on Ward Larsen’s World War II Spy Thriller STEALING TRINITY, plus … Don’t miss Lawrence Kelter’s RANSOM BEACH (Today’s Sponsor)
But first, a word from … Today’s Sponsor
Ransom Beach (Stephanie Chalice Mysteries)
Here’s the set-up:
NYPD’s street savvy detective Stephanie Chalice is back and not a minute too soon.
Her newest nemesis is a con artist and bloodthirsty killer, a chameleon able to change her identity at will, a ghost known only as Black.
Chalice is called into action when a billionaire’s ward, an autistic child, is abducted from beneath the nose of his well trained bodyguard. Black’s reason for choosing this mark is not the obvious one. The kidnap victim is no ordinary child; he has never learned to read or write, and yet is capable of channeling the prophecies of his long dead ancestor; those that have long been memorialized, and those now thought to be ages lost.
Chalice is put to the test, forced to decipher clues that defy explanation. Will she be able to outthink her diabolical opponent before it’s too late?
and now … Today’s Kindle Daily Deal!
 Kindle Daily Deal: Stealing TrinityIn the last days of WWII, the Third Reich tries to retrieve a spy planted deep in the Manhattan Project, birthplace of the atomic bomb. For the mission, the Nazis choose a ruthless killer, American-born Alexander Braun. When the British find out, Major Michael Thatcher is sent to hunt Braun.
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Today’s Kindle Daily Deal — Thursday, June 7 – Two Great Reads for under $3 — Save 72% on Ian McEwan’s Whitbread Novel Award Winning (1987) THE CHILD IN TIME, plus … Don’t miss Stephen Leigh’s DARK WATER’S EMBRACE (Today’s Sponsor)
But first, a word from … Today’s Sponsor
Dark Water’s Embrace
Here’s the set-up:
Winner of the Spectrum Award
“Gripping”—Starlog
Haunting and thought-provoking”—Library Journal
“Intriguing, intelligent”—Mysterious Galaxy
“…an exciting novel from a well-respected writer. Once again, we have a work of fine science fiction which shows us how important biology is to our destiny.” —Feminist Bookstore News
“The fact is that Stephen Leigh’s new novel is a fine piece of work and one that deserves to reach a wide readership.”—NY Review of Science Fiction ***
Often compared to Ursula Le Guinn’s ground-breaking The Left Hand of Darkness, Dark Water’s Embrace is a fascinating look at issues of human (and alien) sexuality. Stephen Leigh creates a rich world with elaborate care and uses this alien backdrop to delve into issues of survival, sexuality and the meaning of life itself.
and now … Today’s Kindle Daily Deal!
 Kindle Daily Deal: The Child in TimeStephen Lewis, a successful children’s book author, takes his three-year-old daughter, Kate, to the supermarket one Saturday morning. For a moment, he gets distracted, and when his attention turns back to Kate, she’s gone. This powerful, beautifully written, and unforgettable novel earned Ian McEwan the Whitbread Novel Award in 1987.
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