Every month Amazon discounts dozens of ebooks for their “$3.99 or less” sale. But this month I was absolutely stunned by some of the jaw-dropping true stories that they’d put on sale in their biography section. There’s tales about professional gamblers, midwestern mafia members, and even an honest-to-god prince who somehow ended up working with the Rolling Stones. And each of these amazing biographies has been discounted to just $3.99 or less!
tinyurl.com/399KindleEbooks
Here’s some of the more interesting titles…
Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions by Ben Mezrich ($1.99)
This remains one of my favorite geek stories of all time: “The amazing inside story about a gambling ring of M.I.T. students who beat the system in Vegas — and lived to tell how.” These college kids crunched the numbers, first forming a card-counting club on their campus. But inevitably they get the itch to try test their skills in a real-world casino — and end up winning millions of dollars. Suddenly the casinos caught wind of their racket, and started tracking the 20-something prodigies. It was loosely adapated into a movie with Kevin Spacey, and one Amazon reviewer applauded this tale of “a constant adrenaline high”. And best of all, it includes a detailed description of Las Vegas card counting — so you’ll know exactly which tricks can help you win big at blackjack!
This book normally sells for $16, so this represents a massive 78% discount. And you can also purchase the audiobook for another $3.99 — and then switch between the ebook and audio versions!
A Prince Among Stones by Prince Rupert Loewenstein ($1.99)
“In 1968 Mick Jagger couldn’t understand why the Rolling Stones were broke,” reads this book’s description at Amazon. “The man he asked for help was a German prince, a merchant banker. They forged an unlikely alliance which re-invented the business of rock ‘n’ roll…” The hardcover edition of Prince Loewenstein’s book normally sells for $27, so this is a massive 75% discount — and it’s a story unlike anything you’ve ever heard before. As the wild band cranked out Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street, this strange new relationship rocked the lives of both Prince Loewenstein as well as Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, and the rest of the Rolling Stones, according to the book’s description at Amazon. ” For nearly forty years Prince Rupert worked with the Stones as-in his own words — ‘a combination of bank manager, psychiatrist, and nanny,’ usually enthralled with his clients but often bemused and exasperated with them, too.” They describe his book as “Coolly impartial and dryly humorous,” and “a refreshingly different take on the rock ‘n’ roll world…”
And you can also purchase the audiobook for another $3.99 — and then switch between the ebook and audio versions!
Milwaukee Mafia (Images of America) by Gavin Schmitt $2.99
“Milwaukee is best known for its beer—and rightfully so,” reads this book’s description at Amazon. “But in the days of Prohibition, the big alcohol suppliers were not Miller, Blatz, Schlitz, and Pabst. The Mafia had control, and it made its money by running alcohol…as well as with counterfeiting, the numbers racket, and two of the biggest heists in American history. ” Using never-before-published photos augmented by historical archives, author Gavin Schmitt also taps the memories of police officers, federal agents, and even his own relatives for a detailed look at a fascinating forgotten moment in history. It’s a vivid pictorial history telling a story that’s never been told before, according to one Amazon reviewer, who applauds the author for being “the first person to take on the Milwaukee Mafia in print.”
Beyond Belief: Finding the Strength to Come Back by Josh Hamilton ($2.99)
He’s the baseball player who’s been making headlines this month — for all of the wrong reasons. So it’s fascinating to discover this 2008 autobiography by Josh Hamilton — and some fans have found it to be an especially poignant read. “I read this book in a couple of hours on Opening Day of the 2015 baseball season on the cusp of Josh Hamilton’s most recent relapse,” wrote one reviewer on Amazon, adding “[I]wanted to learn of his journey through his addiction and I was not disappointed. This is a raw, moving account of a very talented man who fell face first into the use of drugs and watched his baseball career plummet…” Hamilton paints a picture of happier times with his loving wife — who announced two weeks ago that she’s now suing him for divorce. But that seems to make it even more precious that in this 2008 book — which normally sells for $16 — readers found “a man talking to the reader with frank candor and honesty…a man bearing his soul for the reader and taking responsibility for his actions.”
And you can also purchase the audiobook for another $3.99 — and then switch between the ebook and audio versions!
point your browser to
tinyurl.com/399KindleEbooks