<p>Two plus decades ago I happened to be the officemate of the guy who wrote one of my college texts (he was a Computer Science researcher that moonlighted as an adjunct prof and wrote a few texts during lunch hour :)). The book was not all that good, compared to the defacto standards of the time, but what I learned from him defies explanation… It’s basically a great racket that is rigged against the authors as much as it is rigged against the consumers. </p>
<p>But don’t despair. There’s always architecture. DD1’s textbook costs for fall are $14.95 :). (Software is another story, and supplies/materials make even nursing textbooks look like a bargain)</p>