This doesn't surprise me. The whole academic publishing side of things is a royal pile of shit. Glad someone is calling them up on it.
Recently I snagged a copy of "The Art of Electronics" for reference. This has a retail whack of about £40 here in the UK even with Amazon's smackdown and second hand value on top of it. Decided screw that and bagged a copy on eBay. What turned up was an affordable edition destined for Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India with a big warning not to sell outside those areas stamped on it.
I paid £5 including delivery.
Going back to when I did my EE degree, I paid out £340 on textbooks in one semester.
Recently I snagged a copy of "The Art of Electronics" for reference. This has a retail whack of about £40 here in the UK even with Amazon's smackdown and second hand value on top of it. Decided screw that and bagged a copy on eBay. What turned up was an affordable edition destined for Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India with a big warning not to sell outside those areas stamped on it.
I paid £5 including delivery.
Going back to when I did my EE degree, I paid out £340 on textbooks in one semester.
Ugh it's pitiful and pisses me right off.