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BEST FREE ANDROID EBOOK APPS

Source: Pixabay archive copy at the Wayback Machine
available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication
Via WIKIMEDIA COMMONS 

BEST FREE ANDROID EBOOK APPS

widely recognized for offering excellent access to ebooks at no cost:

Libby, by OverDrive

Borrow ebooks and audiobooks for free from local public libraries.

User-friendly interface with offline reading and syncing across devices.

Project Gutenberg

Contains over 60,000 free public domain ebooks.

Great for classic literature lovers with downloads available in multiple formats.

Wattpad

Features free original stories and ebooks from a global community of writers.

Good for discovering new fiction and serialized stories.

Google Play Books

Free classics library and occasional free promotions.

Syncs books across devices with cloud storage.

Amazon Kindle App

Access thousands of free ebooks alongside paid titles.

Supports personalized reading experience and extensive ebook catalog.

Aldiko Book Reader

Supports EPUB and PDF formats with customizable reading options.

Includes access to public domain and freely licensed books.

These apps cover a wide range of genres and reading preferences while being completely free to use. Depending on whether a user wants to borrow from a library, read classic literature, or discover new authors, they can pick the best app suited for their interest.

Popular additional apps mentioned in other sources include:

• Moon+ Reader: Known for wide format support and customization.

• PocketBook Reader: Supports multiple ebook and audiobook formats plus cloud syncing.

• ReadEra: Free offline reader handling many formats.

• Lithium: Lightweight, ad-free EPUB reader.

These apps cover various ebook formats, reading styles, and free access approaches for Android users. Your blog provides a solid set of recommendations for readers looking for diverse content and excellent reading experiences on Android devices.

Grateful thanks to PERPLEXITY AI  for help and support in creating this blogpost and Pixabay and  WIKIMEDIA COMMONS for the image 

BOOK OF THE DAY

A detailed summary of "The Web of Life" by Fritjof Capra 

The Web of Life presents a new scientific understanding of living systems, rooted in systems thinking and ecological awareness. It challenges the outdated mechanistic worldview that dominated science since the 17th century and proposes a holistic, ecological paradigm emphasizing interconnection, relationships, and patterns rather than isolated parts.

The book starts with the cultural context, highlighting the need for a paradigm shift to address global systemic crises like environmental destruction, poverty, and social fragmentation. It introduces deep ecology, a philosophical and spiritual movement that sees humans as integral parts of the web of life with intrinsic value shared by all living beings. This view contrasts with the shallow, human-centered ecology dominant in industrial society.

Capra traces the rise of systems thinking in science, which moves away from reductionism to embrace the study of wholes, patterns, and dynamic networks. He covers the history of biological thought from Aristotle’s concept of form and matter to the Cartesian mechanistic revolution that fragmented reality into separate pieces. Systems thinking restores a view of life as an integrated, self-organizing, evolving process.

The book discusses key scientific developments informing this new paradigm, including nonlinear dynamics, chaos theory, autopoiesis (self-creation in living systems), dissipative structures (systems maintaining order through energy flow), and cognitive science. These concepts reveal how living systems are self-organized networks embedded in larger ecosystems and how mind and matter are inseparable.

Capra synthesizes these ideas into a new theory of life emphasizing networks as the fundamental organizing principle, moving from hierarchical, mechanistic models to ecological networks of relationships. This extends beyond biology into human social systems, ethics, and culture, calling for sustainable, cooperative communities aligned with the patterns of nature.

The epilogue highlights the importance of ecological literacy—understanding these principles and applying them in education, governance, and daily life to foster more sustainable and harmonious human-nature relationships.

Overall, "The Web of Life" offers a comprehensive, integrative view of life as dynamic, interconnected networks that challenges reductionist science and invites a profound shift in worldview, values, and ethics toward sustainability and ecological awareness.

IMPACT 

The impact of "The Web of Life" by Fritjof Capra has been profound across multiple fields due to its revolutionary scientific and philosophical insights. Capra's book synthesizes recent advances such as complexity theory, Gaia theory, chaos theory, and the theory of living systems to challenge and move beyond traditional mechanistic and reductionist paradigms rooted in Cartesian and Darwinian frameworks. This new holistic and systemic perspective has had far-reaching implications:

1. Scientific Impact: Capra helped promote systems thinking as a new paradigm in biology, ecology, social sciences, and cognitive science. His work emphasized understanding life as networks of relationships rather than isolated parts, influencing research on ecosystems, social systems, and even neuroscience.

2. Philosophical and Cultural Impact: The book contributed to a shift in worldview from reductionism to an ecological and holistic vision, emphasizing the interconnectedness of all phenomena. It echoes and bridges insights from mystical traditions with modern science, advocating a deeper ecological awareness and ethical responsibility to the environment and future generations.

3. Practical and Policy Influence: The concept of ecological literacy that Capra highlights has informed educational initiatives and environmental policies aimed at sustainability. His ideas support systemic approaches to solving global crises such as poverty, environmental degradation, and social fragmentation by recognizing their interconnected and systemic nature.

4. Challenges to Conventional Paradigms: The book challenges Cartesian dualisms like mind vs. matter and organic vs. inorganic, proposing instead a view where pattern, structure, and process are inseparable perspectives on life. This has opened pathways for new scientific theories integrating cognition, life, and matter.

5. Critiques and Debates: While celebrated for its integrative vision, some readers find parts of the book dense or aspirational, with critiques noting it sometimes emphasizes cooperation over competition without exhaustive empirical backing. Still, its influence as a foundational text in systems and ecological thinking remains significant.

Overall, "The Web of Life" has inspired a more integrated science, philosophy, and ethics centered on the interdependence of living systems. It invites a major shift in how humanity perceives reality, urging a sustainable and interconnected approach to life on Earth

Courtesy: PERPLEXITY AI

BOOK OF THE DAY

BOOK OF THE DAY

A compelling vision of a new reality, a reconciliation of science and the human spirit for a future that will work

The dynamics underlying the major problems of our time—cancer, crime, pollution, nuclear power, inflation, the energy shortage—are all the same. We have reached a time of dramatic and potentially dangerous change, a turning point for the planet as a whole. We need a new vision of reality, one that allows the forces transforming our world to flow together as a positive movement for social change. Now distinguished scientist Fritjof Capra gives us that vision, a holistic paradigm of science and spirit.

“This splendid and thoughtful book is an essential guide for anyone inquiring about the place of science and metascience in our contemporary culture. Those who enjoyed Fritjof Capra’s Tao of Physics should not expect a sequel; this is a much more ambitious book that attempts and succeeds in presenting a whole worldview from the viewpoint of a committed and experienced physicist who also writes from within the North American culture…. It is unusually detailed and thorough in its inclusion of the conventional and the alternative approaches to topics ranging from ecology through medicine and psychology to economics. It is at once scholarly and easy to read.”—Jim Lovelock, New Scientist

BOOK OF THE DAY

"God does not play dice with the universe." So said Albert Einstein in response to the first discoveries that launched quantum physics, as they suggested a random universe that seemed to violate the laws of common sense. This 20th-century scientific revolution completely shattered Newtonian laws, inciting a crisis of thought that challenged scientists to think differently about matter and subatomic particles.The Dreams That Stuff Is Made Of compiles the essential works from the scientists who sparked the paradigm shift that changed the face of physics forever, pushing our understanding of the universe on to an entirely new level of comprehension. Gathered in this anthology is the scholarship that shocked and befuddled the scientific world, including works by Niels Bohr, Max Planck, Werner Heisenberg, Max Born, Erwin Schrodinger, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Richard Feynman, as well as an introduction by today's most celebrated scientist, Stephen Hawking.

BOOK OF THE DAY

*Overview* 

Sri Aurobindo has commented the lives and teachings of Krishna, Buddha, Christ and Ramakrishna in a large number of writings. In this present study his most important statements on the Avatars of the past are presented and discussed in detail along with utterances of the Mother which throw more light on the respective subjects. Thus we gain deep insight into Sri Aurobindo’s integral vision of the spiritual development of humanity and its future destiny.

BOOK OF THE DAY

The Great Delusion: Liberal Dreams and International Realities is a 2018 book by the American political scientist John Mearsheimer. The book is about international relations and contrasts realism with the idealism that is part of the United States' ruling ideology, arguing that the latter is unsustainable and deteriorates the liberalism its defenders promote.[1][2][3]

The book was reviewed by C. William Walldorf, to which Mearsheimer responded with an article in Perspectives on Politics.[4] Several lectures delivered on the subject of the book were widely viewed, including that before The Bush School of Government and Public Service[5] and that before Carleton University.[6] The book was delivered in lecture form at the SOAS University of London[7] and the University of Bonn,[8] and presented and discussed at the SETA Foundation.[9]

Excerpt from WIKIPEDIA

Grateful thanks to WIKIPEDIA, THE FREE ENCYCLOPEDIA 

BOOK OF THE DAY

State strategies for survival

Objective 1 – Regional hegemony

In addition to their principal goal, which is survival, great powers seek to achieve three main objectives. Their highest aim is to achieve regional hegemony. Mearsheimer argues although achieving global hegemony would provide maximum security to a state, it is not feasible because the world has too many oceans which inhibit the projection of military power. Thus, the difficulty of projecting military power across large bodies of water makes it impossible for great powers to dominate the world. Regional hegemons try strongly to prevent other states from achieving regional hegemony.

Instead, they try to maintain an even balance of power in regions and act to ensure the existence of multiple powers so as to keep those multiple powers occupied among themselves rather than being able to challenge the regional hegemon's interests, which they would be free to do if they were not occupied by their neighboring competitors. Mearsheimer uses the example of the United States, which achieved regional hegemony in the late 1800s and then sought to intervene wherever it looked as though another state might achieve hegemony in a region:

Imperial Germany during World War I

Nazi Germany during World War II

Imperial Japan during World War II

Soviet Union during the Cold War

Objective 2 – Maximum wealth

Great powers seek to maximize their share of the world's wealth because economic strength is the foundation of military strength. Great powers seek to prevent rival powers from dominating wealth-producing regions of the world. The United States, for example, sought to prevent the Soviet Union from dominating Western Europe and the Middle East. Had the Soviets gained control of these areas, the balance of power would have been altered significantly against the United States.

Objective 3 – Nuclear superiority

Mearsheimer asserts that great powers seek nuclear superiority over their rivals. Great powers exist in a world of multiple nuclear powers with the assured capacity to destroy their enemies called mutually assured destruction (MAD). Mearsheimer disagrees with the assertions that states are content to live in a MAD world and that they would avoid developing defenses against nuclear weapons. Instead, he argues that great powers would not be content to live in a MAD world and would try to search for ways to gain superiority over their nuclear rivals.

Rise of American power; 1800–1900

The United States was a strongly expansionist power in the Americas. Mearsheimer points to the comment made by Henry Cabot Lodge that the United States had a "record of conquest, colonization and territorial expansion unequaled by any people in the 19th century." In the 1840s, Europeans began speaking about the need to preserve a balance of power in America and contain further American expansion.

By 1900, however, the United States had achieved regional hegemony and in 1895 its Secretary of State Richard Olney told Britain's Lord Salisbury that "today the U.S. is practically sovereign on this continent and its fiat is law upon the subjects within its interposition...its infinite resources and isolated position render it master of the situation and practically invulnerable against all other powers."

Future of American power

On the penultimate page of Tragedy, Mearsheimer warns:

Neither Wilhelmine Germany, nor imperial Japan, nor Nazi Germany, nor the Soviet Union had nearly as much latent power as the United States had during their confrontations ... But if China were to become a giant Hong Kong, it would probably have somewhere on the order of four times as much latent power as the United States does, allowing China to gain a decisive military advantage over the United States.

Excerpt from WIKIPEDIA

Grateful thanks to WIKIPEDIA, THE FREE ENCYCLOPEDIA 

BOOK OF THE DAY

O'Rourke's book offers a onestop shop for understanding foreignimposed regime change. Covert Regime Change is an impressive book and required reading for anyone interested in understanding hidden power in world politics.― Political Science Quarterly

States seldom resort to war to overthrow their adversaries. They are more likely to attempt to covertly change the opposing regime, by assassinating a foreign leader, sponsoring a coup d'état, meddling in a democratic election, or secretly aiding foreign dissident groups.

In Covert Regime Change, Lindsey A. O'Rourke shows us how states really act when trying to overthrow another state. She argues that conventional focus on overt cases misses the basic causes of regime change. O'Rourke provides substantive evidence of types of security interests that drive states to intervene. Offensive operations aim to overthrow a current military rival or break up a rival alliance. Preventive operations seek to stop a state from taking certain actions, such as joining a rival alliance, that may make them a future security threat. Hegemonic operations try to maintain a hierarchical relationship between the intervening state and the target government. Despite the prevalence of covert attempts at regime change, most operations fail to remain covert and spark blowback in unanticipated ways.

Covert Regime Changeassembles an original dataset of all American regime change operations during the Cold War. This fund of information shows the United States was ten times more likely to try covert rather than overt regime change during the Cold War. Her dataset allows O'Rourke to address three foundational questions: What motivates states to attempt foreign regime change? Why do states prefer to conduct these operations covertly rather than overtly? How successful are such missions in achieving their foreign policy goals?

BOOK OF THE DAY

An astrophysicist chronicles his quest to photograph a black hole and reflects on its spiritual ramifications in this international-bestselling memoir.

On April 10, 2019, award-winning astrophysicist Heino Falcke presented the first image ever captured of a black hole at an international press conference—a turning point in astronomy that Science magazine called the scientific breakthrough of the year. That photo was captured with the unthinkable commitment of an intercontinental team of astronomers who transformed the world into a global telescope. While this image achieved Falcke's goal in making a black hole "visible" for the first time, he recognizes that the photo itself asks more questions for humanity than it answers.

Light in the Darkness takes us on Falcke's extraordinary journey to the darkest corners of the universe. From the first humans looking up at the night sky to modern astrophysics, from the study of black holes to the still-unsolved mysteries of the universe, Falcke asks, in even the greatest triumphs of science, is there room for doubts, faith, and a God? A plea for curiosity and humility, Light in the Darkness sees one of the great minds shaping the world today as he ponders the big, pressing questions that present themselves when we look up at the stars.

BOOK OF THE DAY

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of The Power of Habit, a fascinating exploration of what makes conversations work—and how we can all learn to be supercommunicators at work and in life

“A winning combination of stories, studies, and guidance that might well transform the worst communicators you know into some of the best.”—Adam Grant, author of Think Again and Hidden Potential

ONE OF NPR’S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • FINALIST FOR THE SABEW BEST IN BUSINESS BOOK AWARD

Come inside a jury room as one juror leads a starkly divided room to consensus. Join a young CIA officer as he recruits a reluctant foreign agent. And sit with an accomplished surgeon as he tries, and fails, to convince yet another cancer patient to opt for the less risky course of treatment. In Supercommunicators, Charles Duhigg blends deep research and his trademark storytelling skills to show how we can all learn to identify and leverage the hidden layers that lurk beneath every conversation.

Communication is a superpower and the best communicators understand that whenever we speak, we’re actually participating in one of three conversations: practical (What’s this really about?), emotional (How do we feel?), and social (Who are we?). If you don’t know what kind of conversation you’re having, you’re unlikely to connect. 

Supercommunicators know the importance of recognizing—and then matching—each kind of conversation, and how to hear the complex emotions, subtle negotiations, and deeply held beliefs that color so much of what we say and how we listen. Our experiences, our values, our emotional lives—and how we see ourselves, and others—shape every discussion, from who will pick up the kids to how we want to be treated at work. In this book, you will learn why some people are able to make themselves heard, and to hear others, so clearly.

With his storytelling that takes us from the writers’ room of The Big Bang Theory to the couches of leading marriage counselors, Duhigg shows readers how to recognize these three conversations—and teaches us the tips and skills we need to navigate them more successfully.

In the end, he delivers a simple but powerful lesson: With the right tools, we can connect with anyone.

BOOK OF THE DAY

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A spellbinding novel that transforms history into a story as powerful as Exodus and as intimate as a lullaby. With a new afterword by the author. 

This "brutally powerful, mesmerizing story” (People) is an unflinchingly look into the abyss of slavery, from the acclaimed Nobel Prize winner.

Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. Sethe has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. And Sethe’s new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved. 

“A masterwork.... Wonderful.... I can’t imagine American literature without it.” —John Leonard, Los Angeles Times

BOOK OF THE DAY

To read Tripping Down the Ganga is to stream down Hinduism’s holiest river—the lifewater of India, the mirror of our immemorial civilization—on the raft of Kapila’s immensely readable prose.’—Shashi Tharoor

As a schoolboy in the early 1990s, Siddharth Kapila began accompanying his devout and intrepid mother on numerous yaatras to sacred sites along the Ganga. In 2015, now a more sceptical young man, he decides to visit them on his own. And over the next seven years, as he journeys from Gaumukh, the source of the river in the high Himalayas, to Ganga Sagar, where it meets the Bay of Bengal, he realizes that he isn’t simply exploring his mother’s faith—the faith of tens of millions of Hindus—but also his own.

Up in Gangotri, he meets renunciant babas who share with him their life stories and their meagre food. In Kedarnath, a sadhu tells him how the Shiva temple miraculously survived the devastating floods of 2013. At Badrinath, he attends a family friend’s marriage to Vishnu, to undo a defect in her horoscope. Walking from Haridwar to Rishikesh with the kanwariyas, many of whom have travelled hundreds of kilometres on foot, he sheds his disdain for these young men often accused of bullying and aggression. In Allahabad—now Prayagraj—he tries to parse facts about the Naga sadhus from legend as he watches them perform astonishing feats of strength. Ancient Varanasi offers diverse experiences, from a bhang-induced revelry on Mahashivratri to conversations on the occult with Aghoris, who tell him why they sometimes feed on the dead. In between, he visits Bodh Gaya, where he prays to Shiva at the Mahabodhi Temple dedicated to Buddha.

Moving back and forth in time, Kapila reflects on the politics—and economics—of religion, the hypocrisy and bigotry of some of his fellow pilgrims, the opportunism of some sadhus and the integrity and compassion of others. And he reflects, too, on the resilience of people’s devotion, the great diversity of Hinduism, and the mighty pull of the Ganga, which keeps bringing him back to itself no matter how hard he reasons against the faith of his birth.

As much an entertaining travelogue as an introspective memoir, Tripping Down the Ganga is an unprecedented book on the everyday Hinduism of believers and non-believers alike.

BOOK OF THE DAY

From the New York Times bestselling author, the larger than life story of America's fifth president, who transformed a small, fragile nation into a powerful empire

In this compelling biography, award-winning author Harlow Giles Unger reveals the epic story of James Monroe (1758-1831)-the last of America's Founding Fathers-who transformed a small, fragile nation beset by enemies into a powerful empire stretching "from sea to shining sea." Like David McCullough's John Adams and Jon Meacham's American Lion, The Last Founding Father is both a superb read and stellar scholarship-action-filled history in the grand tradition.

BOOK OF THE DAY

A spellbinding story of two young people whose fates intersect and diverge across continents and years—an epic of love and family, India and America, tradition and modernity, by the Booker Prize–winning author of The Inheritance of Loss

“A spectacular literary achievement. I wanted to pack a little suitcase and stay inside this book forever.”—Ann Patchett

“A novel so wonderful, when I got to the last page, I turned to the first and began again.”—Sandra Cisneros

“Devastating, lyrical, and deeply romantic . . . an unmitigated joy to read.”—Khaled Hosseini

“A grand and stirring love story, written in exquisite prose.”—Namwali Serpell

“Magnificent . . . A masterpiece.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

One of Publishers Weekly’s Top 10 New Books of the Fall

When Sonia and Sunny first glimpse each other on an overnight train, they are immediately captivated yet also embarrassed by the fact that their grandparents had once tried to matchmake them, a clumsy meddling that served only to drive Sonia and Sunny apart.

Sonia, an aspiring novelist who recently completed her studies in the snowy mountains of Vermont, has returned to her family in India. She fears that she is haunted by a dark spell cast by an artist to whom she had once turned for intimacy and inspiration. Sunny, a struggling journalist resettled in New York City, is attempting to flee his imperious mother and the violence of his warring clan. Uncertain of their future, Sonia and Sunny embark on a search for happiness together as they confront the many alienations of our modern world.

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is the sweeping tale of two young people navigating the many forces that shape their lives: country, class, race, history, and the complicated bonds that link one generation to the next. A love story, a family saga, and a rich novel of ideas, it is the most ambitious and accomplished work yet by one of our greatest novelists.

BOOK OF THE DAY

*The One Idea That Saves the World: A Call to Conscience"* by Laurence Overmire is a book that argues for the power of love and compassion to address the world's most pressing issues. It's a call to action, urging individuals to embrace a more conscious and responsible way of living to foster positive change. 

*Here's a breakdown of the core message:*

*The Idea*: The book posits that the one idea that can save the world is love and compassion. It's not a passive feeling, but an active force that compels individuals to act on behalf of others and the planet, according to Overmire. 

*The Call to Conscience:*

 The book emphasizes the need for a shift in consciousness and a heightened sense of personal responsibility. It encourages readers to examine their own actions and choices and consider their impact on the world, says Amazon.com. 

*A Vision of Hope:*

 Despite acknowledging the significant challenges facing humanity, the book offers a vision of hope, suggesting that positive change is possible through collective action rooted in love and compassion. 

*Key Themes:*

Environmental Responsibility:

The book highlights the urgent need to address climate change and environmental degradation, emphasizing the interconnectedness of all living things. 

*Social Justice:*

It calls for a more just and equitable world, where all individuals are treated with dignity and respect. 

*Personal Transformation:*

The book encourages individuals to cultivate compassion, empathy, and a sense of responsibility for the well-being of others and the planet. 

Overall, "The One Idea That Saves the World" is a call to action that urges individuals to embrace love and compassion as the driving force for positive change in the world.

*Courtesy: Google AI Overview*

BOOK OF THE DAY

New science reveals the groundbreaking potential of the vagus nerve to regulate your body’s vital systems and heal a wide variety of medical conditions without drugs

The vagus nerve is fundamental to our health and vitality, coordinating critical functions  from the precise heartbeat we need to exercise or rest to the balance of appetite and digestion. Made up of 200,000 fibers, the vagus nerve sends thousands of electrical signals every second between your brain and your most important organs. Yet despite its essential role in life, important vagus nerve functions have eluded centuries of scientific investigation. Now neurosurgeon and researcher Kevin Tracey has discovered the previously unknown power of the vagus nerve to reverse inflammation, balance the immune system, treat chronic illness, and keep our organs humming together in harmony.

    In The Great Nerve,  Dr. Tracey shows us how stimulating the vagus nerve with a tiny electrical implant has the potential to reverse life-altering diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, lupus, MS, diabetes, obesity, stroke, depression, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. If this sounds too good to believe, Dr. Tracey shares stories of patients who have gone from being nearly bedridden to running and dancing, along with the science that makes possible these recoveries. He also explains the evidence for lifestyle strategies like ice baths, meditation, exercise, and breathwork that can maintain and improve vagus nerve function. 

    By opening the door to the new field of neuroimmunology, The Great Nerve not only revolutionizes how we understand and treat disease, it gives us unprecedented hope for our health. This is the story of your body’s ability to heal itself.