To view the PDF file, you’ll need PDF reader software. Three that I am familiar with are Adobe Acrobat Reader, Foxit Reader, and UPDF. Free versions are available for all three.

For more advanced features, I personally use the paid version of UPDF because it’s a one-time payment instead of a subscription. Before I made that purchase, I was using the free version of Foxit Reader as a preferred alternative to Acrobat.

(I stopped using Foxit after they removed the ability to add bookmarks to PDF files in their free version, as you are also unable to do in the free version of Acrobat. Don’t worry, though, your downloaded PDF file already has chapter bookmarks added for easy navigation!)

For viewing PDF files on your desktop or laptop computer, any one of those three apps will work fine. However, for viewing on a mobile device, the best free option is Acrobat, which you can get from the Google Play Store (for Android devices) or the Apple App Store (for iPhones).

The reason I say Acrobat is best for viewing the PDF on your phone is because, unlike EPUB files, the text in PDF files is not designed to flow responsively to the width of your device’s screen. However, Acrobat has the unique feature of “Liquid Mode”, which lets you view PDF files basically like you would an EPUB file. In the app, just click the icon in the top toolbar that looks like a drop of water to enable or disable Liquid Mode.

The PDF file is also a standard 8.5” x 11” aspect ratio so you can print it out if you’d like.

The EPUB file format is the standard for most e-readers, such as Kobo Sage or Barnes & Noble Nook.

Amazon used to use a different format called MOBI for its Kindle devices but has since also adopted use of the more universal EPUB file format.

To add the e-book file to your device, you can simply connect your device to your computer with a USB cable, and then copy the file from your computer and paste it into the folder on your device where your other e-books are stored.

However, if you try to add an EPUB file to your Kindle device this way, it won’t work. The file will not be viewable in your library.

You can add EPUB files to your Kindle, just not by that method. Instead, you have to use Amazon’s “send to Kindle” feature, which you can do from Amazon.com in your web browser or by sending the file to your Kindle device’s email address. Here is a good article from Digital Trends explaining the simple steps for both methods: “How to read EPUB books on a Kindle”.

However, Amazon uses another file format called KFX, and with this file type, you can just copy/paste (or drag and drop) the file from your computer to your Kindle. That’s why I’ve provided you with the e-book in both EPUB and KFX formats!

More Detailed Instructions for Copying the e-Book File to Your Device

I personally own a Kindle Paperwhite device, so I will provide instructions for how to get A Brief History of Palestine onto a Kindle, but the process should be similar for any modern e-reader device. Just keep in mind that for most other readers, you’ll be using the EPUB file, but for the Kindle, with this method, you’ll need to use the KFX file instead.

I also have a PC using Windows operating system, but, again, the process should be similar if you have a computer running Mac OS.

Plug the USB charging cable into the Kindle and connect it to a USB port on your computer. Your computer should recognize the Kindle, so when you open File Explorer and click “This PC”, you should see the Kindle device listed along with your main (C:) drive and any hard drive partitions or external drives you have connected. (For example, since my hard drive has a (D:) partition, my Kindle is listed as the (E:) drive.)

Clicking to view the contents of my own Kindle, there is a list of folders, one of which is “documents”, and inside of that folder is a subfolder called “Downloads”. All the e-books I have on my Kindle are in that folder. You might have additional subfolders within the “Downloads” directory, but just navigate to wherever you can see your e-book files stored.

Once you find the right directory on your Kindle device, all you have to do is copy and paste (or drag and drop) the KFX file for A Brief History of Palestine from your computer into that folder on your Kindle.

Now, to safety disconnect the Kindle from your PC, in the lower right of your taskbar, click that up arrow to view the system tray icons, and you should see an icon that looks like a USB flash drive. If you hover over it, it will say, “Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media”. If you click that, you will see any connected USB devices, so just select the Kindle device from that list. (Alternatively, in File Explorer, right click the Kindle device and select “Eject”.) Now you can unplug the USB cable from your computer.

That’s it! The book is now on your Kindle and will show up in your library of downloaded books.

This is an audio file that you can play with Apple Quick Time Player or iTunes. It enables you to close the file and continue playing where you left off, plus within the media player, you can select chapters to jump to.

This version consists of numerous files, including one M3U playlist file and one MP3 file for each section of the book. For your convenience, the files are compressed into a single ZIP file. Once downloaded, you’ll need to unzip the package. Then you’ll be able to access a folder containing all the necessary audio files.

Now you can play each book chapter individually the way you would play any MP3 music file.

Better yet, you can open the M3U file with a compatible audio player, and this will allow you to skip forward and back through each section of the book. Some players will also provide navigation so you can select any chapter and jump there immediately.

Players that I know are compatible include iTunes, Windows Media Player Legacy, Media Monkey (which is my favorite app for organizing my music collection), and VLC Media Player (a very versatile media player).

You can download any of those media players for free at the links.