FREE for free: first ebook and audiobook versions released

FREE (full book) by Chris Anderson

We’re going to be rolling out the free digital forms of FREE over the next two weeks. First up: the Scribd form, right here on the blog (and anywhere else you want—it’s embeddable). This is the whole book!

(click “full screen” for a better reading experience).

Also released today: the free unabridged audiobook. You can either download the whole things as zipped MP3 files, or play them on the Wired.com microsite.

 

You can also get the audiobook from Audible.com in two forms

1) Unabridged (six hours; free)
2) Abridged (three hours; $7.49)

Why is the whole book free in audio form, but half the book is $7.49? Because, as the Audible.com listing explains,“Get the point in half the time! In this abridged edition, the author handpicked the most important and engaging chapters and points, cutting three hours from the length without losing key concepts. Time is money!”

Over the next week or so, we’ll be releasing other versions, including iTunes podcast and download, Kindle, Google Books and more. All free, for varying lengths of time (from a week to forever). I’ll be tracking the stats for everything and sharing the results of these experiments here over the next month.

Comments

[john]

A Friend sent this to me. Have a read.

AN AXE TO GRIND

By NY Times Best-selling author Steve Alten of “The Shell Game”

QUESTION: How does a tall, bearded radical Muslim living in a cave in Afghanistan divert the most powerful Air Force in the history of mankind from the most guarded air space on the planet on the very day of the worst terrorist attack…an attack that will lead to the invasion of Iraq, a country that has nothing to do with the events of 9/11?

ANSWER: He doesn’t.

[sivareddy]

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[Alana Baker]

I just wish I could get access to your material. I am having the same issues with the content being unaccessible in my region.

Best,
Alana Baker
http://www.onlydownloads.net/

[Alana Baker]

I wish I could get access to this material. Any news on when it will be available wordwide?

Best,
Alana Baker
http://www.onlydownloads.net/

[Poor Man's Loans]

Great article. Thank You!

[David B]

Ya, it's free alright, if you live in the UNITED STATES!
When I try to download the ebook I get this:
"Sorry, this content is geographically restricted
Due to our agreements with our publishing partners, the document you requested is only available to users located in the United States. "
(I live in Montreal, Quebec, CANADA).
I was able to download the audiobook atleast.
Atleast 1 of the 2 items. Better than nothing.
Thanks, I try listening to it.
David

[christmas gift ideas]

Thanks chris for letting us know about free ebook and audio book. I just want to know if free hard copy is available in India or not. The link you have provide here for free ebook download is just sample book or full ebook ?

[Worlord]

Free download

For a book about the unversality of the internet; to have a restriction regarding the download destination, is a complete contradiction.

It is also disturbing, that as the blog author, you have not responded, to explain the purpose of the geographic barrier.

Having read the articles that preceeded 'Long Tail' and the book, I am even more mystified that you would participate in this practice.

An explaination for the preferential treatment of the USA over the rest of the world, would be appreciated.

[Vitamin C]

Audiobooks are doing what e-books promised. There is an audiobook version available, with a downloadable version from Audible (withdrawn for a couple of days because yours truly discovered a minor recording glitch on the first try).If you haven't tried audiobooks yet, get this one and try it.

[Downloadable books]

If you are looking for good books that will increase your knowledge then you can visit http://www.ebookserenity.com// site and you will find cheap ebooks !! So why are you waiting .. go and order your favorite ebook!!

[Colin]

Hello to everyone at Wired,

I live in Bogota, Colombia, where "this content is geographically restricted. Due to ... agreements with our publishing partners, the document you requested is only available to users located in the United States."

Is there a place where I can read this content for free? Published in HTML maybe?

Thanks!

[DownloadFan]

Thank you. I'm reading...

[Priam]

After reading the books from Lawrence Lessig about a similar topic i searched the web and found your article on wired.

Then I wanted to download it - and I could not because I'm from Poland. I have read all the comments and Your responses. You claim that You couldn't make the ebook for free to read because the publisher wouldn't go for that. But Lessig shows that You CAN GIVE IT COMPLETELY FOR FREE and sell all your paper books. Also there are more egzamples of such way of distributing.

You really seem like an hipocrit or at least someone who doesn't want to admit that he made a bad deal with the publisher

And you seemed to be so cool...

[aion kinah]

Generally I do not post on blogs, but I would like to say that this post really forced me to do so,Excellent post!

[Daniel]

Hmm. Free is not free?
You can say it´s free and mean that`s not free. :/

[ebook review]

I just love audio books, they make thing so much more simple, I listen when I drive to ebooks all the time because I think music is a waste of time, don't you think this way?

[Konjugierte Linolsäure]

Hi chris,
Thank you for the book.I am going to download the audiobook and will surely read it.