International Text books!

[Shamrock]

I've got a question.

Ready?

THAT WAS IT!

Anyway, I shall be starting school rather abruptly, and I obviously have to go through the ordeal of purchasing text books. I'm going to be using this one particular one for two semesters however since it's required for both so renting is out of the question.

The book you're wondering what it may be is.... Calculus.

So I've been searching and searching, and I've come across a few that are an international edition of it. They're cheap. I'm talking FIFTY PERCENT CHEAPER THAN I HAVE SEEN THAT WASN'T CHEAP!

So I'm wondering, since it's a mathematics book, does that mean it will be using metric instead of imperial and what else will be changed inside of it? I know it will probably be paper backed, says INTERNATIONAL EDITION in several places, and may even have the problems in different orders. Has anyone used this particular book? OR has anyone used an international edition of a mathematics book here in AMERICAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA and found there to be different problems/METRIC?

TELL ME NOW OR BE FORCED TO SUCCUMB TO THE WRATH OF CHASE.

 

[Minister]

Engineering rather than Mathematics but I've used a couple of American textbooks before and all that seems different is that it uses Imperial rather than Metric. Pretty sure the problems were almost exactly identical.

 

[Shamrock]

Engineering rather than Mathematics but I've used a couple of American textbooks before and all that seems different is that it uses Imperial rather than Metric. Pretty sure the problems were almost exactly identical.

Well, when I say different, I just mean I've read that they might be differently numbered. Say in the US edition, problem 1 is actually problem 4 in the international.

 

[Minister]

Errr, not sure to be honest. Does it make a difference? So long as you have the question and answer. Unless you get set questions to do for coursework.

 

[Escaep]

I've been told to stay away from international editions. For math, i don't know. If you know how to quickly convert metrics to imperial (assuming intl editions use metric) then it might be good.

 

[Shamrock]

I'm pretty sure that they're the same in every way, though it might depend on what you mean by international textbook. I have an anatomy and physiology textbook which is just labeled as 'international' rather than from a specific country. It states on the back that the content is identical to the US version. It also says this: "If you purchased this book within the United States or Canada you should be aware that it has been imported without the approval of the Publisher or the Author." Thanks I'll try to be aware of that

Where have you ordered your books from? The one site I am looking (www.textbooksrus.com) has a 100% guarantee that the IE editions will be exactly the same, but I'm still weary as I've read in certain places that there is a chance the IE edition will not be the same at all.

They aren't from a specific country, it's just labeled as the IE like you said.

TOASTER, I AM SCARED.

 

[mindless_moder]

I've bought a ton of international books , the questions rarely match up perfectly. Sometimes theres a constant offset so you know your question number will always be off by 5 questions because they add some new ones in front and sometimes they just change every ****ing thing. The actual chapters are always the same though , what i usually do is grab a regular copy from friend/library and mark the questions in my textbook and scan the ones i don't have , its still cheaper than buying regular editions.

 

[The Monkey]

The imperial system is used in the US even in the academic world?

 

[Stigmata]

This is how textbook publishing works.

Every year, the textbook company receives statistical information regarding student success on certain problems, certain chapters, and so forth. They edit the book accordingly, changing the problematic questions to make them easier, or harder, or different. This costs a lot of money. So does shipping thousands of pounds of paper. To make up for this, the company publishes multiple versions of the textbook, each with subtle differences like a different question order, a chapter starting on a different page, and so forth. One of these versions is shipped to North America, another to Europe (I think, maybe it's country-specific), etc etc, and each one is priced according to consumer wealth. Western countries have a ton more money than most of the rest of the world, so our books are priced at hundreds of dollars. The international version is sold at a lower price to increase market saturation in poorer parts of the world that also provide university-level education.

In other words, if you have the ability to figure out which information and questions you need, instead of just blindly following a set of page numbers, then get the cheapest version you can.

 

[sixteenth]

Yes. I have bought a bunch of other international books. They are different in someways, but nothing very major. Page numbers have been different in a number of editions I've seen compared to their respective american versions, but chapters and sections always have been the same.

One thing though: prepare to either hold on to the book for the rest of your life, sell online off eBay, or use as tinder for your next fire because no bookstore will buy that book back. I'm not just talking about your university bookstore, I'm also talking about the mom and pop one down the street or even the bigger ones.

 

[DEATHMASTER]

If you plan to sell it back to your school (like mine does), they usually don't accept international editions. Just something to keep in mind, I usually want my moneys back.

 

[Shamrock]

I honestly don't mind the part about selling it back. I won't be paying much for it, and I will get me money's worth from it. I was just extremely weary about buying an IE because of the variations.

 

[Insano]

The imperial system is used in the US even in the academic world?

My question exactly.

 

[Minister]

Let Americans be American. It's what they do best.

 

[Escaep]

My question exactly.

For the most part, yes, we use imperial in the academic world. Although it sometimes differs between classes. Some business/science courses might require you to at least learn metrics and use it on assignments.

 

[Stigmata]

Every time someone does a physics calculation in Imperial, NASA facepalms.

 

[StarBob]

I ended up with international text books a few times. Most of the time nothing was different at all. Sometimes it was a few really minor things that wouldn't cause you to fail a test or be murdered... Hell most of the time you can go with an older version and stilll have all of te same info minus a few pages. Text book companies make new verisons of books and have hundreds or thousands of salespeople to go to professors convincing them to buy them. I used to work under contract for Pearson Education developing their CMS system... it was basically designed to track down every single person in a schooling system that would potentially buy books and annoy the shit out of them.

 

[dfc05]

Oh man, I remember using that Calculus book... seven years ago.

The only international book I had was Thermodynamics which I'd borrowed from a friend. It appeared to be the same as the US counterpart. The actual text should be the same, and you can just check textbook problems with a friend to make sure you have the right one. Usually your university library will have the book on hold for the class also, so you can go to check/copy the problems.

As for units -- we used SI units in some classes and English (US, whatever) units in others. It was really annoying.

 

[Shamrock]

So.. the book says 'METRIC INTERNATIONAL EDITION.' Dare I say that this is going to be the wrong book for me to use or should I just chance it and hope it all adds up?

WHAT SHOULD I DO?

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

Every time someone does a physics calculation in Imperial, NASA facepalms.

Construction in the US uses both. It depends on what you're measuring.

For example you may require a 36 meter concrete pump boom to pump a small 100 square foot section of slab, because there is a 3 meter dropoff preventing the mix trucks from arriving.

Its actually more accurate that way and you can get a better idea of sizes by having more options to measure with. The US is officially imperial but we really use both in society, probably 60% imperial 40% metric.

 

[ShadowArmy]

international versions of textbooks often come with a disclaimer, "Not for sale outside of (blank)" and there is enough possibility that the questions or problems deviate enough from the local version that I wouldn't take my chances with it.

 

[Matorbogl]

My school wanted me to pay 250USD for an introductory biology textbook, I found an international version of it for 50USD, brand new. Did I mention it was identical to the overpriced version my peers were using?

Price gouging, it's the American way.