[Tutor] New Introductory Book

[bhaaluu]

On Nov 8, 2007 9:33 AM, Kent Johnson <kent37 at tds.net> wrote:
> Danyelle Gragsone wrote:
> > It look great.. but being a student I can't afford such a high priced
> > item.  I guess I will have to wait for the used copies to show up on
> > amazon :).
>
> FWIW this book is available to anyone with a .edu email address for
> $71.53 plus shipping, from
> http://www.a1books.com/cgi-bin/mktSearch?act=showDesc&itemcode=0136150314
>
> A little more ($75.29) without a .edu email but still the best price
> found by BestBookDeal:
> http://www.bestbookdeal.com/book/compare/0136150314/
>
> Kent
>

You probably won't have to wait much longer than a college semester
for used copies of this textbook to start showing up on the Net
depending on how many CS professors adopt it as a CS-1 textbook.

I asked if the source code for the textbook is available for download?
One of the best ways to judge the quality of a textbook is by the example
source code. I also asked if a sample chapter was available to read?
Sometimes an author's writing style just doesn't click (too bad for
students who HAVE TO buy the textbook for a class -- then they have
to suffer through it). But for others, studying on their own, being able
to read a sample chapter and look at the example source code might
be the stimulus to buy the book (even at $102/$71.53/$whatever).
OTOH, having a look at the example source, and a sample chapter
might be a good enough reason not to touch the book with a 10 foot
pole! It can go either way....

Another way to judge how the book is, is by reading the posts the author
sends to THIS list in order to help people. Mr. Chun and Mr. Gauld are
two authors who provide help on this list. I certainly don't mind if they
advertise their books on occassion -- they are also Tutors!

http://used.addall.com/  lists used copies for many used-book brokers.

Just Another Noob.
-- 
b h a a l u u at g m a i l dot c o m
http://www.geocities.com/ek.bhaaluu/python/index.html