Related link: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/09/gao-tim-oreilly-lett…

I am glad that our own Tim O’Reilly wrote an open letter to Congressman Wu on the outrageousness known as college textbooks, and the value of SafariU.

I was one of millions of college students that suffered through the ordeal of buying textbooks. I recall during my first two years at Tufts, I spent over $500.00 a semester on textbooks –all new; I don’t like secondhand books. Yeah, I also bought few grossly “bundled” textbook packages (software with the big and heavy book) that were also grossly expensive. In my Junior year, I slowly realized how worthless it was to buy most textbooks, and what a heckuva business it was. The instructors that I had, especially in Computer Science departments, hardly ever followed or used textbooks, maybe except for a few homework assignments.

I cut my total textbook spending in my Senior year (in all) to under $500.

I didn’t spend a dime on textbooks during my graduate studies. I knew I would live fine, and do well, without them. I was also not going to make the same mistake I made during my undergraduate studies –buying textbooks.

Today, I still have countless, and pounds, of textbooks from my undergraduate days, sitting on my bookshelves. Most are still in near-mint condition.

Of course last semester, I was on the other end of the table: I was an instructor. I did myself and my students a favor: I didn’t require a textbook. Why would I want to dedicate myself and my class to one or two books? And I can’t bear the fact to have my students spend $40 to $100 on a textbook that they will rarely use –like they have any money in the first place. Now thinking of it, maybe I should have used SafariU.

The best textbook that I have ever bought? Programming Perl. I still use it (heavily) as a reference at work. Despite my rant, I do have to say that O’Reilly books make outstanding textbooks. Not only are the affordable, but (in general) they have a tremendous blend of learning and reference information suited for the happy-medium of students, instructors, and professionals.