Xref: utzoo sci.math:4988 sci.physics:5014 comp.edu:1481 Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!pacbell!amdahl!johnm From: johnm@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com (John Murray) Newsgroups: sci.math,sci.physics,comp.edu Subject: Re: How to beat the high cost of text books! Message-ID:Date: 4 Dec 88 04:47:17 GMT References: <2219@cbnews.ATT.COM> <684@stech.UUCP> <17553@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> <17738@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> Organization: Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale CA Lines: 35 Just a couple of thoughts: * If publishers sent their promotion copies to campus libraries or bookstores, and then solicited support from the faculty at that location, wouldn't that provide them with greater exposure than dumping copies on the desks of individuals who don't even teach the topic? Anyone browsing through the "Review Texts" section could have the opportunity to provide them with input, including students. I wonder what proportion of a text's sales go to libraries rather than individual students (and profs not on the mailing list)? * As for rewarding the authors, many profs seem to write their texts "during working hours", so to speak. Taking a sabbatical to write a book appears to be more common for advanced topics rather than for introductory texts, which often evolve out of class handouts over several years. Thus, the author isn't really "dependent" on the income in the same sense that a professional writer is. It seems to me that the royalties are sometimes just a way for instructors to make a little extra money. What would the royalties on a typical, mediocre intro text be, anyway? $500? $5000?? $50000??? * The Wang Unix book was mentioned as an example of over-pricing. Presumably it was marketed in the usual textbook fashion. How often do profs prescribe texts they've received free, rather than going through the contents of their local bookstores? By not looking for good, cheap books on a subject (such as the myriad of Unix non-textbooks), they inadvertently contribute to this disgrace. * It gets worse when BOTH a textbook and a half-baked version of the prof's forthcoming work need to be bought by the student. Sometimes a non-textbook supplemented by good course notes would more than suffice. - John M. (My own opinions, etc.)