Online Textbooks and eBooks | Online College Textbooks

With the rising prices in textbooks, especially those purchased through campus bookstores, it can be no surprise that more and more students and professors are turning to online resources. Digital textbooks exist in a variety of forms, including open-source documents, interactive eBooks, and as digital versions of regular texts. We’ve compiled a list of these online sources, organized by subject, to help you find the information necessary for your class, and the best part is that all of these books are freely available online. You won’t have to pay a cent.

  • General

    • Bartleby.com – An online resource with texts from all areas of study, including reference texts, classic tales, poetry and more.
    • Learn Out Loud – Online audiobooks on a wide range of subjects, from arts and biographies to politics and technology.
    • LibriVox – An online collection of audiobooks for texts in the public domain.
    • Project Gutenberg – An online archive of texts for free, in a number of different languages.
    • The Internet Text Archive – An archive of texts from all disciplines and fields of study, in many different languages.
    • Verkaro Audio Books – Online audiobooks for works in the public domain, including famous texts like the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and A Tale of Two Cities.
    • WikiBooks – An online open-source textbook archive, featuring textbooks on a wide variety of subjects, including educational books for children.
    • World Public Library – A resource for finding many ebooks free, including famous works like Anna Karenina and the Three Musketeers.

  • Agriculture

  • Anthropology

  • Architecture

    • Architecture by Nancy R. E. Meugens Bell – An introduction to architecture and its history, including an overview of the materials used in ancient times and today.
    • Architecture in Detail II by Graham Bizley – 40 architectural case studies of recent construction projects, complete with images and blueprints.
    • Ubran Regions: Ecology and Planning Beyond the City by Richard T.T. Forman – With land planning, socioeconomics and natural systems as foundations, this book combines urban planning and ecological science in examining urban regions.
    • Architecture in a Climate of Change (2nd Edition) by Peter Frederick Smith – Revised to incorporate and reflect changes and advances since it was first published the new edition of Architecture in a Climate of Change provides the latest basic principals of sustainability and the future of sustainable technology.

  • Art History

    • The History of Painting by John Charles Van Dyke: A general guide to painting throughout history, starting with the ancient Egyptians and working through the centuries up to modern day. Includes images to help aid understanding.

  • Biology

    • Biology I -Honors edited by Douglas Wilkin – An introduction to the basics of biology, including cells, genes, evolution, ecology, anatomy and more.
    • Botany Online – the Internet Hypertextbook by Alice Bergfeld, Rolf Bergmann and Peter v. Sengbusch – A translation of a German botany text, including information on cells, genes, molecules, communication, interaction and evolution in plants.
    • Cells: Molecules and Mechanisms from Axolotl Academic Publishing Company – A detailed summary of the principles of cellular biology, including a number of interesting and informative slide shows as companion to the text.
    • Life Sciences Honors for Middle School edited by Douglas Wilkin – An introduction to all the various fields of life sciences, including botany, marine biology, taxonomy, bacteriology, genetics, anatomy, neuroscience, biochemistry, epidemiology and zoology.
    • Rediscovering Biology: Molecular to Global Perspectives by Amy Does, Horman A. Johnson, and Teresa Thiel – This multi-media approach to biology covers all the traditional topics, like evolution and neurobiology, as well as newer topics like genomics.
    • The Biology Pages by John W. Kimball – A online introductory text for biology students, organized with hyperlinks rather than chronology to help facilitate better learning. Covers cells, molecules, genes, anatomy, ecology, evolution and more general topics.

  • Business and Management

    • Business Communication for Success by Scott McLean – A comprehensive look at ways to improve business communication, with a focus on the process of writing and speaking, and how to adapt communication for differing situations (from the board room to the cubicle).
    • Business Ethics by William Frey – A technical guide designed to help students develop the necessary skills for decision making and problem solving. It places a particular emphasis on ethical leadership, ethical decision-making, social responsibility and corporate governance.
    • Core Concepts of Marketing by John Burnett – A guide to the principles of marketing, including analysis of different methods, how technology and globalization impacts marketing strategies, and illustrative examples from today’s business world.
    • eMarketing: The Essential Guide to Online Marketing by Rob Stokes – This guide aims to help students understand the wide world of online marketing, and learn ways in which it can be used to their advantage in the business world.
    • Exploring Business by Karen Collins – This text aims to introduce students to the basic principles of business, with a focus on understanding the roles of different departments like accounting, finance, IT, marketing, etc.
    • Financial Accounting by Joe Ben Hoyle and C.J. Skender – A clearly organized guide to finance accounting, with a video at the head of each chapter to explain key terms and points. Every chapter also contains an example of real-world business applications for the subject.
    • Information Systems: A Manager’s Guide to Harnessing Technology by John Gallaugher – A business-focused guide to information systems, aiming to teach students through real-world business examples and garner interest in IS.
    • Launch! Advertising and Promotion in Real Time by Michael Solomon, Lisa Duke Cornell and Amit Nizan – A concise guide to advertising and marketing in the new world of business, with special attention paid to pitching techniques and getting your name out there.
    • Organizational Behavior by Talya Bauer and Berrin Erdogan – This organizational guide emphasizes active learning, meaningful examples and useful tools for staying organized, no matter what your field of work.
    • Principles of Management by Mason Carpenter, Talya Bauer and Berrin Erdogan – This book aims to provide a comprehensive view of the principles of management, based on the common planning, organizing, leading and controlling framework, with three underlying themes: strategic thinking, entrepreneurial thinking, and active management.
    • Principles of Marketing by Jeff Tanner and Mary Anne Raymond – A carefully organized guide to the basic principles of marketing, which covers service-dominant logic, sustainability, ethics and social responsibility, global coverage and metrics.
    • Project Management from Simple to Complex by Russell Darnall and John M. Preston – A guide to the principles of project management, with particular attention to techniques for assessing the complexity of a project before diving in headfirst.

  • Chemistry

    • Chem1 Virtual Textbook: a reference text for General Chemistry by Stephen Lower – A hyperlink textbook for the introductory principles of Chemistry, including atoms, states of matter, solutions, chemical bonding and more.
    • Chemistry by Siyavula Siyavula – Basic textbook information on matter and materials, chemical change, and chemical systems for grades 10-12.
    • Chemistry from CK12.org – A detailed hyperlink text covering the principles of chemistry, starting with laboratory safety and atomic theory, and working up to organic chemistry.
    • Concept Development Studies in Chemistry by John S. Hutchinson – An online textbook designed to encourage learning through interaction and experimentation, which covers all of the important central concepts in introductory chemistry.
    • Virtual Textbook of Organic Chemistry from Michigan State University – A detailed online resource for many topics in chemistry, including intermolecular forces, chemical reactivity and bonding, as well as sections on the different groups of the periodic table.

  • Computer Science and Information Systems

    • A First Course in Electrical and Computer Engineering by Louis Scharf – An introductory course for electrical and computer engineering, which covers basic concepts like complex analysis, phasors, and linear algebra, and also introduces students to the program MATLAB.
    • Free Tech Books – Tons of online computer science and information technology texts, covering a wide range of topics from introductory algorithms to electric circuits.
    • High Performance Computing by Charles Severance and Kevin Dowd – A text on the basics of high performance computing, aimed at new programmers and scientists. Assumes a basic understanding of modern computer architecture.
    • How to Think Like a Computer Scientist by Allen B. Downey – An introduction to computer science, including basic programming principles, de-bugging techniques and variables, with C++ as an example language.
    • Information Technology and the Networked Economy by Patrick McKeown – A textbook that explores the ways in which our new, techology-based economy leverages human intelligence, much like the industrial economy leverages human strength.
    • Introduction to Physical Electronics by Bill Wilson – A text covering the basic principles of solid state devises, including field effect, bipolar transistors, transmission lines and E&M waves.
    • Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation by Shriram Krishnamurthi – A data-oriented approach to teaching programming languages, designed for use in the modern classroom and with modern computers.
    • Prolog and Natural-Language Analysis by Fernando C. N. Pereira and Stuart M. Shieber – A comprehensive guide to the prociples of logic in programming, with a focus on Prolog and Natural-Language Analysis.
    • Python for Informatics: Exploring Information by Charles Severance – A concise, well-organized text on the Python programming language, with a focus on data rather than algorithms and abstractions.
    • Think Java: How to Think Like a Computer Scientist by Allen B. Downey – An introduction to Java programming for beginners, with the Computer Science AP exam specifically in mind.

  • Earth Science

    • Earth Science Honors for Middle School from CK12.org – A comprehensive multi-media textbook covering the basics of the natural sciences, including geology, meteorology, oceanography and more.
    • Earth Systems: An Earth Science Course by Christine Loew – An introductory course for earth sciences designed for grades 9-10. Includes assignments and a teacher’s guide.
    • Introduction to Physical Oceanography by Robert H. Stewart – A text for upper-level college and graduate students, covering ocean-related topics like oceanography, meteorology and ocean engineering. Includes both PDF and hyperlink version.

  • Economics and Finance

    • International Economics: Theory and Policy by Steve Suranovic – An introductory text that strives to make the complicated math and statistics behind economics accessible for all, including non-economics majors.
    • International Finance: Theory and Policy by Steve Suranovic – A guide to finances on the international level, designed with accessibility in mind. Covers a range of topics, including exchange rates, and roots each topic in an example from the real world.
    • International Trade: Theory and Policy by Steve Suranovic – An exploration of the struggle between free trade and interventionist/protectionist policies on an international level.
    • Introduction to Economic Analysis by R. Preston McAfee and Tracy R. Lewis – An introduction to the basic principles and concepts behind economic theories, complete with a study of the differences between physical and internet marketplaces.
    • Macroeconomics by Timothy Tregarthen and Libby Rittenberg – An introduction to economics with a focus on macroeconomics, covering the topics of supply and demand, aggregate expenditures, net exports and inflation.
    • Money and Banking by Robert E. Wright and Vincenzo Quadrini – A conceptual guide to economics, with some light math and graphing thrown in to illustrate the more complicated points. Each chapter is accompanied by a list of key points to look for.
    • Online Economics Texts – A collection of economics texts online, including some of those listed here as well as others.
    • Principles of Economics by Libby Rittenberg and Timothy Tregarthen – A textbook that seeks to unify the principles of micro- and macroeconomics unto one, unified theory of economics that is easy for students to understand.
    • Quantum Microeconomics by Yoram Bauman – An online textbook dedicated to laying out the principles of microeconomics in a way that is easy to understand, interesting to read and not insulting to the reader. There is also a version with the proper calculus thrown in.

  • Education

    • College Success by Bruce Biederwell, Linda F. Tse, Tom Lochhaas and Nicholas B. deKanter – A guide to developing the study habits and life skills necessary to survive in a college environment. Includes interactive activities to keep readers engaged.
    • Educational Psychology by Rosemary Sutton and Kelvin Seifert – An informational text for teachers who want to improve their teaching ability, with a focus on the special skill sets that teachers didn’t need to have twenty years ago.

  • Engineering

    • Engineering: An Introduction for High School by Dale Baker, Annapurna Ganesh, Tirupalavanam G. Ganesh, Stephen Krause, Darryl Morrell, Chell Roberts and Janel White-Taylor – An introductory guide to engineering, which covers the history of engineering, the nature of engineering, the societal impacts of engineering and the math and science involved in engineering.
    • Fundamentals of Elecrtical Engineering I by Don Johnson – The first half on an electrical engineering course, covering creation, manipulation, transmission and reception of electronic information, including elementary signal theory and error-correcting codes.

  • English

    • Audio Books for Free Audio versions of many literary texts, including the works of Shakespeare.
    • Authorama (Public Domain Books) – A website featuring a small library of public domain texts sorted alphabetically by author. Includes Flatland, Price and Prejudice, the Devil’s Dictionary, Alice in Wonderland, Grimm’s Fairy Tales and much, much more.
    • Many Books – A website dedicated to collecting and archiving ebooks and online audiobooks for free.
    • Text Collections in Western European Literature – Several collections of European literature, including texts from Italy, Norway, Finland, France, Spain, Sweden, and more.
    • The Online Books Page – An online archive of public domain works, organized by author, title, or subject.
    • The Oxford Text Archive – A digital archive of literary texts and linguistic resources.
    • VIRGO – The University of Virginia Library’s online text collection.

  • Geology

  • History

    • Internet History Sourcebooks Project – An online resource provided by Fordham University that collects and makes available historical texts from all eras of History.
    • Making of America – An online collection of American History texts and textbooks.
    • Manuscript Reading Room – An online archive of historical texts from the Library of Congress.
    • Perseus Digital Library – A collection of digital historical texts from a number of cultures, including documents from ancient Greece and Rome, documents in Arabic and Renaissance texts.
    • U.S. History Learner from America.gov – A reader for people trying to improve their English skills, focusing on the history of the United States of America.
    • U.S. History since 1877 by Dr. James Ross-Nazzal – The second half of a course on US history, covering everything at 1877 up until modern times.

  • Mathematics

    • A Computational Introduction to Number Theory and Algebra by Victor Shoup – The basics of computational number theory and algebra, as well as necessary background information.
    • A First Course in Complex Analysis by Matthias Beck, Gerald Marchesi and Dennis Pixton – An introduction to complex analysis, made up on lecture notes from a college course.
    • A First Course in Linear Algebra from the University of Puget Sound – An introductory course for linear algebra.
    • A Summary of Calculus by Karl Heinz Dovermann – An overview of the most important and fundamental concepts in calculus.
    • A=B by Marko Petkovsek, Herbert S. Wilf and Doron Zeilberger – A mathematical explanation of computers and the theories behind AI.
    • Abstract Algebra: the Basic Graduate Year by Robert B. Ash – A guide to abstract algebra for graduate students, covering essential algebraic structures and their applications to physics, engineering and computer science.
    • Abstract Algebra: Theory and Applications by Tom Judson – A textbook designed to teach the principles of abstract algebra to college juniors and seniors, feature a range of computational and theoretical exercises and applications.
    • Advanced Calculus by Sternberg Shlomo and Lynn Loomis – A calculus textbook for the advanced math student, featuring concepts such as vector spaces, differential calculus, scalar product space, integral calculus and exterior calculus.
    • Algebra I from CK12.org – An introductory guide to the basics of algebra, including linear equations and exponential functions.
    • An Introduction to the Theory of Numbers by Leo Moser – An introduction to elementary number theory, including such concepts as distribution of primes, congruences, combinatorial number theory and the geometry of numbers.
    • Applied Probability by Paul E. Pfeiffer – A guide to using MATLAB to solve probability equations.
    • Basic Analysis: Introduction to Real Analysis by Jiri Lebl – An introduction to basic analysis aimed at students who don’t intend to go on to study mathematics in graduate school.
    • Basic Concepts of Mathematics by Elias Zakon – A text designed to help students with the transition from manipulative to rigorous mathematics, covering basic set theory, induction, functions and relations, equivalence relations, real numbers and n-dimensional Euclidean spaces.
    • Basics of Algebra and Analysis for Computer Science by Jean Gallier – An in-progress online text covering the basics of algebra for computer science majors.
    • Book of Proof by Richard Hammack – A guide to writing and understand mathematical proofs.
    • Calculus by David R. Guichard – A comprehensive guide to the principles and techniques of calculus.
    • Calculus by Gilbert Strang – A introduction and overview of the principles of calculus.
    • Calculus I by Paul Dawkins – Lecture notes compiled into an online textbook on introductory calculus.
    • Calculus II by Paul Dawkins – A series of lecture notes collected into a textbook on intermediate calculus.
    • Calculus III by Paul Dawkins – A collection of lecture notes on advanced calculus.
    • Collaborative Statistics by Barbara Illowsky and Susan Dean – An introductory text for beginning statistics students, with a focus on application rather than theory.
    • College Algebra by Paul Dawkins – An online collection of lecture notes on the basics of algebra for college students.
    • Complex Analysis by George Cain – An introduction to complex analysis, including poles, integration, complex functions, elementary functions and Cauchy’s theorem.
    • Design of Comparative Experiments by R.A. Bailey – An introduction to comparative experiments, including topics like blocking, factorial treatment, and Latin squares.
    • Difference Equations to Differential Equations: An Introduction to Calculus by Dan Sloughter – An introductory calculus text with sections on cuntions, approximations, integration and more.
    • Dynamical Systems by S. Sternberg – An introduction to statistics, including iterations, bifurcations, conjugacy, the contraction fixed point theorem, hyperbolicity and symbolic dynamics.
    • Elementary Abstract Algebra and Elementary Number Theory by W. Edwin Clark – Two online texts, covering abstract algebra and number theory respectively. Also includes a list of recent articles on mathematical topics.
    • Elementary Linear Algebra by Keith Matthews – Online lecture notes compiled into an introductory text for linear algebra, including linear equations, matrices and complex numbers.
    • Elements of Abstract and Linear Algebra by Edwin H. Connell – A foundational text for abstract algebra, but with a focus on linear algebra.
    • Geometry from CK12.org – A full course textbook on the topic of geometry, including geometric proofs, parallel and perpendicular lines, trigonometry of right triangles, perimeter, area and more.
    • Introduction to Matrix Algebra by Autar K. Kaw – An introductory text with a focus on the use of matrices in mathematics.
    • Introduction to Real Analysis- This textbook by William F. Trench is for a two-term course in introductory real analysis for junior or senior mathematics majors and science students with a serious interest in mathematics.
    • Introduction to Social Network Methods by Robert A. Hanneman and Mark Riddle – A guide to modeling social media networks, including the use of matrices to represent social relations and working with Netdrew for graphing.
    • Introduction to Statistical Thought by Michael Lavine – An upper-level college text for teaching statistical thinking. Assumes a knowledge of calculus and the concept of abstract thought.
    • Introductory Statistics: Concepts, Models and Applications by David W. Stockburger – An online textbook detailing the techniques used in statistical analysis, including critical values and distribution models.
    • Lectures of Probability, Statistics and Econometrics – An online textbook introducing fundamental topics in statistics and probability, including asymptotic theory.
    • Linear Algebra by Jim Hefferon – An introduction to the basic principles of linear algebra.
    • Linear Algebra by Paul Dawkins – A collection of online lecture notes on the topic of beginning linear algebra.
    • Math Alive by Ingrid Daubechies and Shannon Hughes – An online course designed to teach about the history of mathematics, with a particular focus on the difference between its application 25 years ago and today.
    • Math in Society: A survey of mathematics for the liberal arts major by David Lippman – A basic overview of mathematics for the mathematically disinclined.
    • Mathematical Mathods of Engineering Analysis by Erhan Cinlar and Robert J. Vanderbei – A guide to using mathematics in engineering analysis, and the basic necessary theories and principles.
    • Multivariable Calculus by George Cain and James Herod – An introduction to advanced calculus, including vectors and Euclidean three space theory.
    • Online Mathematics Textbooks An archive of online math texts on a number of topics, ranging from geometry to multivariable calculus.
    • Probability and Statistics – Basics (A Short Course) edited by Breena Meery – An introduction to the concepts of probability, including standard distribution, independent and conditional variables, and standard bell curves.
    • Proofs and Concepts: The Fundamentals of Abstract Mathematics by Dave Witte Morris and Joy Morris – A textbook on using logical proofs.
    • StatSoft Electronic Statistics Textbook from Statistica Data Analysis Software and Services – An online textbook with everything you need to know about statistics, including real-world examples.
    • SticiGui by Philip B. Stark – An introductory text on statistics.
    • The Calculus of Functions of Several Variables by Dan Sloughter – A detailed discussion of the use of functions in calculus, particularly exponential variables.
    • Trigonometry from CK12.org – A comprehensive course on trigonometry, including trigonometric functions and identities, vectors, triangles and how to use graphing calculators.
    • Worldwide Differential Calculus by David B. Massey – A video series on differential calculus and all its most important theories and concepts.
    • Yet Another Calculus Text by Dan Sloughter – An introduction to a hyper-real system of numbers based on calculus. Intended only for advanced mathematicians.

  • Medicine

  • Music

    • Sound Reasoning by Anthony Brandt – An introductory online course for music appreciation, including audio tracks to illustrate each point.
    • Understanding Basic Music Theory by Catherine Schmidt-Jones – An introduction to the theories and concepts of music theory, including the physics of acoustics and common notation.

  • Philosophy

  • Physics

    • Calculus-Based Physics by Jeffrey W. Schnick – An introduction to the basic principles of physics and the math behind them.
    • Classical Electrodynamics by Bo Thide – An online project designed to create the ultimate electrodynamics textbook, covering all of the basic and advanced topics and concepts.
    • Conceptual Physics by Crowell – An introduction to the central concepts in physics.
    • Essential Physics I by Frank W. K. Firk – An introduction to physics, using mathematical concepts only when needed.
    • Fields – An online text dedicated to field theory and the physics behind it.
    • General Relativity by Benjamin Crowell – A self-study textbook for upper-level physics students, with a focus on tensor-gymnastics techniques.
    • Introduction to Groups, Invariants & Particles by Frank W.K. Firk – A physics textbook that places concepts in their historical context.
    • Introduction to String Field Theory by W. Seigel – An introduction to one of the most complicated and controversial theories in modern physics.
    • Light and Matter by Benjamin Crowell – An introductory physics course, focusing on algebraic and trigonometric formulas rather than those using calculus.
    • Motion Mountain by Christoph Schiller – A textbook focused on the physics of everyday things, including animals, stones, starts, light and space.
    • People’s Physics Book by James H. Dann and James J. Dann – A comprehensive overview of the principles of physics, including conservation of energy, projectile motions, centripetal forces, newton’s laws, waves, rotational theory and more.
    • Physics, 21st Century: A Compilation of Contemporary and Emerging Technologies from CK12.org – An introduction to the use of physics in modern thechnology, including in nanoscience, biophysics and kinematics.
    • Simple Nature by Benjamin Crowell – A calculus-based physics textbook intended for engineering and physical science major freshmen, using a non-traditional layout with energy before force.
    • Superspace, or One thousand and one lessons in supersymmetry by S.J. Gates, Jr., M.T. Grisaru, M. Rocek and W. Siegel – A text on high-energy physics, with a focus on the concept of super space.
    • The Age of Einstein by Frank W. K. Firk – An introduction to Einstein’s theories of relativity. Requires a basic grasp of mathematics.

  • Psychology

    • Introduction to Psychology by Charles Stangor – An introductory text written with teachers in mind, designed to help keep an overall narrative going.
    • Introduction to Psychology by T. Brink – An introductory text on psychology, covering all major topics from the nervous system to developmental psychology.
    • Psychology of Cyberspace by John Suler – A hypertext volume exploring the behavior of people in computer environments and within social media networks.

  • Sociology