Two students learn a life lesson the hard way.
But I guess now their rent and food bills are taken care of…
Archive for the ‘textbooks’ Category
How Not to Make Money From Used Textbooks
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009From Slavery to Freedom Author Dies at 94
Thursday, March 26th, 2009
U.S. historian, John Hope Franklin, considered one of the greatest chroniclers of the African-American experience, died yesterday at the age of 94.
Franklin penned nearly 20 books but is most noted for From Slavery to Freedom (1947), an epic account of the experiences African-Americans from their departure from Africa to their on-going struggle for equality at the end of 20th century. The book continues to be used in college and university classes across the United States.
1967 First Edition copy of From Slavery to Freedom
Franklin accomplished a lot in his life - He assisted in the 1954 Brown vs Board of Education case against racial segregation, was the first black president of the American Historical Association as well as the first black department chair at Brooklyn College not to mention being the first African-American professor to hold an endowed chair at Duke University. In 1995, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and in 2006 was announced as the third recipient of the John W. Kluge Prize for lifetime achievement in the study of humanity.
Listen to journalist Bonnie Greer discussing Franklin’s place in history - From BBC World Service
Studying Harry Potter
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009Reported today on news.scotsman.com:
JK works her magic on Harry Potter students
STUDENTS at an American university studying the work of Edinburgh author JK Rowling have been split up into the four Hogwarts’ houses due to the popularity of the course.
The class, focused on discussing the marketing and cultural significance of the best-selling Harry Potter series, as well as the literary influence of JRR. Tolkien and Charles Dickens on JK Rowling, attracted more than 100 students at California State University in Fullerton. This is three times the size of a normal English class, and so students have been split into Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw house.
Professor Erin Hollis said the different houses would earn points for attendance and trivia over the course of the class, and added that interest in the class had been unprecedented.
Professor Hollis is reportedly developing other classes focused on popular literature.
Find cheap textbooks
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009I spent part of yesterday researching textbooks for AbeBooks.com and I know this was naive of me but I’m still shocked at how the price of college textbooks keeps increasing. Let’s take Marketing Management by Philip Kotler - a key business studies textbook and one of AbeBooks’ bestselling textbooks every year. This book is now in its 13th edition.
September 2005 - list price is $140
September 2006 - list price is $153
September 2007 - list price is $166
September 2008 - list price is $176
Today, the list price remains $176 - thank heavens for small mercies. Later this year, this book will be priced at $189 - I guarantee it.
The cheapest copy of Marketing Management, a new copy, on AbeBooks.com is $27 from a bookseller in Singapore and the shipping would be $14 to the US. Prices are much lower on AbeBooks because of the intense competition between booksellers in the textbooks segment. The Internet allows instant price comparisons so sellers with high prices don’t sell any books. I know where I’d buy my textbooks if I was at university.