well because of copyrights, books that the author isn't dead and has been dead for 50? years, you have to pay for it regardless of where you get it legally, but the old books that no longer have a copyright on them can be found in several places. the one that i like is at bookrags.org. If you plan to save money by getting an ebook and then printing it, it doesn't pay but as long as you don't mind reading off the computer this is a great alternative to the Hastings and Barnes and Noble prices. Just google the book you want to find and see what comes up