Money Grubbing in Educational Publishing. Nothing New Here Folks, Move Along.

The happy curmudgeon, Jim West, commented on the rather shocking price of a recent book. $590.00 list price from Brill for a 2000 page for a new etymological Greek dictionary from Brill (who else?). My own tome from last year is around $100.00 (from Ashgate), so its price per page is even higher but since it doesn’t have have a picture of me in it it is probably worth it.

But here is a deal. My friend Tom Robinson (whose own recent book of Ignatius of Antioch goes for a rather modest sum from Hendrickson) is also the author of a self published little volume that was something of hobby project for the past few years with a small entry on a related issue.

Ignatius of Antioch and the Parting of the Ways:
Early Jewish-Christian Relations

Tom’s new baby. Click Here.

Anyway, I don’t have a cover shot of Tom’s new new book (compiled and edited with Sharon (Mrs. Tom), but it is called

EVERYTHING OLD IS NEWS AGAIN

While working on a different project that required snooping through hundreds and thousands of pages of old newspapers, Tom noticed how often newspapers a hundred years ago and so reported on issues that are strikingly up to date. Here is one (p. 79) from THE DAILY GAZETTE AND BULLETIN from Jan. 27, 1877

New Editions of Textbooks Too Frequent.

Mr. Mitchell has introduced a bill into the legislature to prevent changes in school books more than once in six years. No measure of relief will be hailed with more satisfaction than a law of this kind, so that the constant changing of school books has become one of the most annoying evils that a patient people have to endure without any benefit except to gratify the whims of teachers and put money in the pockets of rival publishers.

Here is another one (p. 78) from a little later.

Fads in Education

Our public schools stand in danger of being invaded by another fad. they have suffered from various fads in the past and will likely do so again in the future. It seems one of the weaknesses inherent in human nature to adopt readily whatever is new or novel or catchy, no matter whether it is reasonable or not. Educational work is unfortunately not free from this weakness. Some educationalist after much philosophizing and theorizing evolves some new or novel scheme, some publisher gets a hold of it and by judicious and liberal use of printer’s ink proclaims it to the world as a new system bound to revolutionize educational method.
The Centralia Enterprise and Tribute (July 28, 1894:7)

The more things change, the more things stay the same! And here are the same ideas, in the interpretative medium of lolcat!

moar funny pictures