3 ms·

Based on my experience in school you're right about the first point (though they are still churned out very frequently) but incorrect about the second point (at

Based on my experience in school you're right about the first point (though they are still churned out very frequently) but incorrect about the second point (at least at the school I go to- I suspect it varies from school to school). Professors frequently require the latest edition of a book. Sometimes you can use the old book, but oftentimes it makes it very difficult to do the homework as the chapter/problem numbers get scrambled around in every edition and new problems can be added in the new editions.

mhb 17y ago
Market for a diffbook?
- kbrackbill 17y ago
  That's actually a pretty good idea. The difference between the newest edition and second newest edition of a book can be up to $100 sometimes. For example the my intro circuits book cost me $100 used (http://www.amazon.com/Electric-Circuits-8th-James-Nilsson/dp/0131989251/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246808055&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/Electric-Circuits-8th-James-Nilsson/dp...) for the newest edition when I could have gotten the second newest one for $5 (http://www.amazon.com/Electric-Circuits-7th-James-Nilsson/dp/0131465929/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246808074&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/Electric-Circuits-7th-James-Nilsson/dp...)
  - anigbrowl 17y ago
    How much new information is in the 8th edition that justifies the price difference, do you think?
    - kbrackbill 17y ago
      I can't really say since I don't have the 7th edition. In general though, they usually add another chapter or two to incorporate recent developments in the field. These are usually interesting but almost never actually used in class. The only reason for the price difference (in used copies at least) is that all classes require the new one now, so there is no demand for the old one.
      - anigbrowl 17y ago
        Forgive my ignorance, not having been to a US college - what happens if you just buy the old edition and (say) copy the pages from the new one in the library, or make some handwritten notes? I'm assuming they don't do a loyalty check on the contents of your book bag when you attend class. Do the book problems vary from edition to edition, limiting your ability to do assignments, for example? Don't mean to be snarky but I get the impression that the relationship between US textbook publishers and academia is really the worst of all worlds, and seems like a case of the free market gone wrong, with few colleges working to offer a competitive (ie cheaper) option to students who don't want to pay ridiculous prices for books. Mind you, it's great for autodidacts like me who can pick up slightly older textbooks for less than the cost of printing. Now if only Spivak would do a new edition of his calculus book...

mhb 17y ago

Market for a diffbook?

kbrackbill 17y ago
That's actually a pretty good idea. The difference between the newest edition and second newest edition of a book can be up to $100 sometimes. For example the my intro circuits book cost me $100 used (http://www.amazon.com/Electric-Circuits-8th-James-Nilsson/dp/0131989251/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246808055&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/Electric-Circuits-8th-James-Nilsson/dp...) for the newest edition when I could have gotten the second newest one for $5 (http://www.amazon.com/Electric-Circuits-7th-James-Nilsson/dp/0131465929/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246808074&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/Electric-Circuits-7th-James-Nilsson/dp...)
- anigbrowl 17y ago
  How much new information is in the 8th edition that justifies the price difference, do you think?
  - kbrackbill 17y ago
    I can't really say since I don't have the 7th edition. In general though, they usually add another chapter or two to incorporate recent developments in the field. These are usually interesting but almost never actually used in class. The only reason for the price difference (in used copies at least) is that all classes require the new one now, so there is no demand for the old one.
    - anigbrowl 17y ago
      Forgive my ignorance, not having been to a US college - what happens if you just buy the old edition and (say) copy the pages from the new one in the library, or make some handwritten notes? I'm assuming they don't do a loyalty check on the contents of your book bag when you attend class. Do the book problems vary from edition to edition, limiting your ability to do assignments, for example? Don't mean to be snarky but I get the impression that the relationship between US textbook publishers and academia is really the worst of all worlds, and seems like a case of the free market gone wrong, with few colleges working to offer a competitive (ie cheaper) option to students who don't want to pay ridiculous prices for books. Mind you, it's great for autodidacts like me who can pick up slightly older textbooks for less than the cost of printing. Now if only Spivak would do a new edition of his calculus book...