(no subject)

[lollardfish]

This book is annoyingly expensive.

I need a less expensive general medieval textbook. Or a more targeted, but still general, social history textbook for the period (class is: Work and Family in Medieval and Renaissance Europe).

Comments

FWIW.

[txanne.livejournal.com]

My dad (who's nearing retirement and who therefore might not care a lot) is letting his students pick either a Br. Cadfael or a Sr. Frevisse novel--then they have to write an essay on what's right and what isn't. He says it's going over very well with the students. (Who are not as driven as yours will be; imagine a 4yr community college.)

Re: FWIW.

[lollardfish.livejournal.com]

How fun! I'm just not convinced my students will have the wherewithal to know the difference.

[mia-mcdavid.livejournal.com]

You mean you actually *care* how much your students have to pay for textbooks? Be careful, they'll drum you out of the Professor Corps if they find out! :-)

[lollardfish.livejournal.com]

Most professors I know do care, though many, alas, are a little too distracted to notice. :) Fortunately in this case, I think we can get by with older, used, editions.

[zinzinzinnia.livejournal.com]

Sheesh, $70 seemed par for the course when I bought textbooks in university.

What about something by the Gieses, or the History of Private Life? Too dated? Not textbooky enough? I have Cantor's Medieval Reader and it's fun, but I guess it's also just not textbooky enough, huh?

[lollardfish.livejournal.com]

It's a really small paperback textbook. There's just no excuse. This isn't a big glossy contraption ... or it wasn't anyway.

[lollardfish.livejournal.com]

Right. I'm trying to find one, or see if there are enough used copies.

[buttonlass.livejournal.com]

In my world that's cheap. It's funny the difference in prices between the hard and soft sciences. My statistics text cost around 125 dollars. I don't think your book is that bad.

[lollardfish.livejournal.com]

It's not a "big glossy" though. Just a flimsy paperback. Grumble.

[pied-piper70.livejournal.com]

Yes, but it's a 400 page paperback edition...which, at that price, also in my world, is about average...Hopefully, you can do better...

[guppiecat]

Bookfinder lists that specific edition at prices ranging from $4.24 to around $20 before things start getting weird. That gets you around 50 copies.

URL: http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?st=re&ac=pg&qi=Io,hF7ftCeU1AYFAZP5uvEtxiyg_2910532785_1:50:154:1:0

If you can teach from non-matching editions (as my lit classes often did), then you have 145 options before you break the $20 mark.

URL: http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?st=re&ac=pg&qi=Io,hF7ftCeU1AYFAZP5uvEtxiyg_2910532785_1:50:154:1:0


Granted, it might take a bit in shipping to collect them all, and some of them are sure to already be sold and not updated online. However, it looks like there is a reasonable supply on the used market.

[lollardfish.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's what I'm doing.

[zinzinzinnia.livejournal.com]

Have you considered compiling your own textbook?

McGraw-Hill offers a custom textbook service called Primis Online. This text is one of their offerings, so you could pick and choose the parts of it you want, blend it with other things from other texts they offer from their database, and sell it.

Check out: http://www.primisonline.com/cgi-bin/POL_page.cgi?page=newindex2.html&context=pol

History is under "Humanities and Social Sciences".

A number of other educational publishers (like Bedford/St Martin's) also offer similar services.

[lollardfish.livejournal.com]

I'm so not ready to do that right now. Maybe next summer or if I get a grant to do it.

But yes, I'm aware of the option. :)

[guppiecat]

My two chicago-based music fans are born_to_me and gundo on lj.

While I've not been to their music nights, based on what I know, I think you'd fit in.

I'll let born_to_me know who you are, so she's not surprised if you contact her.

[lollardfish.livejournal.com]

I contacted her. Thanks!