John D. Berry, a legendary type designer, is responsible for the superb design of Content. I’ve often said that people value the physical book for its physicality (which is partly why giving away downloads leads to sale of the print editions), but rarely has one of my books been so gorgeously physical. The downloadable PDF of the entire book will give you a sense of just how hand-turned, artisinal and deliciously smart the interiors of this book are — if you’re as excited by great type as I am, check out the buy page to get your own copy. And lest I forget, the superb cover came from designer Ann Monn!

I can’t begin to express how exciting it was hear that John Perry Barlow would write the introduction to this collection. This is, after all, the man who wrote The Declaration of Independence of Cyberspace, a document that has haunted and moved me since I first read it in 1996. Barlow is one of the most profound, generous, and genuinely kind and thoughtful people I’ve ever met. He is uncompromising, principled, funny and as down to earth as anyone you’ve ever met. If you only read one essay in this collection, read John Perry’s intro.

Every time I put a book online for free, I get emails from readers who want to send me donations for the book. I appreciate their generous spirit, but I’m not interested in cash donations, because my publishers are really important to me. They contribute immeasurably to the book, improving it, introducing it to audience I could never reach, helping me do more with my work. I have no desire to cut them out of the loop.

But there has to be some good way to turn that generosity to good use, and I think I’ve found it.

Here’s the deal: there are lots of teachers and librarians who’d love to get hard-copies of this book into their kids’ hands, but don’t have the budget for it (teachers in the US spend around $1,200 out of pocket each on classroom supplies that their budgets won’t stretch to cover, which is why I sponsor a classroom at Ivanhoe Elementary in my old neighborhood in Los Angeles; you can adopt a class yourself here).

There are generous people who want to send some cash my way to thank me for the free ebooks.

I’m proposing that we put them together.

If you’re a teacher or librarian and you want a free copy of Content, email freecontentbook@gmail.com with your name and the name and address of your school. It’ll be posted below by my fantastic helper, Olga Nunes, so that potential donors can see it.

If you enjoyed the electronic edition of Content and you want to donate something to say thanks, check below to find a teacher or librarian you want to support. Then go to Amazon, BN.com, or your favorite electronic bookseller and order a copy to the classroom, then email a copy of the receipt (feel free to delete your address and other personal info first!) to freecontentbook@gmail.com so that Olga can mark that copy as sent. If you don’t want to be publicly acknowledged for your generosity, let us know and we’ll keep you anonymous, otherwise we’ll thank you on the donate page.

Check the donate page for people looking for copies.