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Secrets from someone who has been on all three sides of this situation (and I come down on the student's side):
Professor's perspective:
Most professors report the official textbook as the latest edition upon the recommendation of the publisher. It's not that professors don'tcare. It's that they're not going to spend a month reading a 1400 page book to look for the three new ideas in this year's edition. They'lltrust that you're getting the most current information and, if necessary, revise their teaching notes a week before giving the lecture. (And you betterbelieve people #$!#% - usually it's pompous mediocre students - if they think there is a newer idea than what they learned in class.)
Solution: TALK WITH YOUR PROFESSORS. Ask them if they see any problems with using the previous (much less expensive) edition of the book. Most will tell you that's perfectly fine - and some will even give you their old copies.
Publishing company's perspective:
Textbook companies nut themselves trying to crank out new editions as frequently as reasonably possible. Additionally, in the last 5-8 years everything in thetextbook publishing industry has become about "support materials." Back in the day, we bought a book for class. Now every "package" has abook, a workbook, a CD-ROM/DVD, and web support - none of which you'll ever need or use. However, by bundling a bunch of crap that's virtually free toproduce and needs little or no updating, you pay 50-150% more than you would for just the book.
Professor's perspective:
Most professors report the official textbook as the latest edition upon the recommendation of the publisher. It's not that professors don'tcare. It's that they're not going to spend a month reading a 1400 page book to look for the three new ideas in this year's edition. They'lltrust that you're getting the most current information and, if necessary, revise their teaching notes a week before giving the lecture. (And you betterbelieve people #$!#% - usually it's pompous mediocre students - if they think there is a newer idea than what they learned in class.)
Solution: TALK WITH YOUR PROFESSORS. Ask them if they see any problems with using the previous (much less expensive) edition of the book. Most will tell you that's perfectly fine - and some will even give you their old copies.
Publishing company's perspective:
Textbook companies nut themselves trying to crank out new editions as frequently as reasonably possible. Additionally, in the last 5-8 years everything in thetextbook publishing industry has become about "support materials." Back in the day, we bought a book for class. Now every "package" has abook, a workbook, a CD-ROM/DVD, and web support - none of which you'll ever need or use. However, by bundling a bunch of crap that's virtually free toproduce and needs little or no updating, you pay 50-150% more than you would for just the book.
