I spend a considerable amount of time during my Winter 2013 semester break preparing to teach my Fall 2013 semester classes; classes that will not begin for another six months. Because Congress passed the Higher Education Opportunity Act in 2010 which, in part, required colleges to inform students of required textbooks at the time they enroll in a course, I have to make important decisions about my approach to courses six or more months in advance.

If I used standard textbooks, this would not be a significant problem for me. However, for a variety of reasons—including a desire to keep costs down—I prefer to adopt trade books instead of textbooks. For example, Portals: Entering Your Neighbors World, a trade book I am teaching this semester (List Price $7.99/Kindle $3.99). Standard textbooks for the course would be anywhere from $100-$150.

Because of the requirements of the Higher Education Opportunity Act, I was almost not able to adopt Portals in my classroom because the book was published after the deadline set by the college for my book order. Fortunately, Dr. Glenn Sunshine was willing to send me a .pdf copy of his book so that I could review it before book orders were due. As a result, I was able to teach classes around a current topic with a recently published book.

Although the Higher Education Opportunity Act has several unintended consequences that I believe make it more difficult for faculty members to provide lower priced textbooks for students, I do believe that the underlying problem it is trying to address is significant. Textbooks are too expensive and, as a professor, it is part of my job to develop alternatives for my students.

Ideally, I like to keep required texts to less than $20 and look at $25 as the maximum price range per class. Because I teach both history and English around a theme, trade books are generally available. The “problem” with some of these texts is that they are longer or more detailed than the type of book around which I prefer to build an introductory class. Charles C. Mann’s 1492: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created (List Price $16.95/Amazon $11.53) fits this category. Yet, this book provides a far better understanding of global politics in the early modern world than any textbook I have seen.

Teaching trade books does require more work than simply relying on a traditional textbook because trade books need to be supplemented with additional materials in order to flesh out the class. For example, Reay Tannahill’s Food in History (List Price $18.00/Amazon $12.24) only serves as a starting point for discussions of the ancient world. Student research and presentations—which I consider positive pedagogy—are required for the class to fulfill its core competencies.

Finding a book that can provide a theme for a course and is written in such a way that it can serve as a foundation from which to branch out into other issues can be problematic. John Reader’s Potato: A History of the Propitious Esculent (List Price $20.00/Amazon $ 14.70) is one such book. While the history of the potato could serve as an ideal way to consider international relations, cultural, family, politics, war, and other issues, Read’s book takes an approach to the topic that does not lend itself easily to such discussions. This does not mean that Read’s book has no merit. Although it will not work as a text for a history class, I learned much while reading. An intended consequence of reviewing trade books—most of which get rejected as potential texts—is that I increase my knowledge; knowledge that makes be a better professor.

A special problem that surfaces in the composition classes I teach is the need for specialized materials to help students learn basic research and writing skills that are not found in trade books. That is why I wrote the Back Porch Guide to the Research Paper and supplemental materials which are freely available on-line. Even had I not prepared this on-line publication, there are ample free and easily accessible composition materials to replace the cumbersome and expensive writing handbooks I have seen offered to me by publishers’ representatives. Therefore, I see no need for me to use a textbook and handbook for the course.

I realize that some professors—especially adjunct faculty members—are not in a position to freely select trade books or no textbook for a course. I am also aware that some faculty members do an excellent job of mindfully incorporating a formal textbook into their classes. But price is a factor that I must consider as I adopt books for my classes; even as I grumble about having to make these selections months in advance of the semester in which I am teaching them.

–Steven L. Berg, PhD

Photo Caption: The Back Porch Guide to the Research paper is a free textbook available to students on-line. It was released under a creative commons license that allows faculty members to modify the text to fit their needs.