Perhaps not for 'War and Peace', but part of a book might work for computer manuals

According to Edward Wyatt of the New York Times, "In a race to become the iTunes of the publishing world, Amazon.com and Google are both developing systems to allow consumers to purchase online access to any page, section or chapter of a book. These programs would combine their already available systems of searching books online with a commercial component that could revolutionize the way that people read books."

Perhaps the surprise is not that this is happening, but that it has taken so long to get here! Read more. Free registration may be required to access this article, and free access may be limited to 7 days. You can also request the article through interlibrary loan!