Take the money and book ‘em, Dano

If you haven’t taken any college classes in a while, you probably don’t know how much textbooks cost these days. Let’s say, for example, that you were taking a communications class that used the first edition of George Rodman’s book “Making Sense of Media: An Introduction to Mass Communication” (Allyn & Bacon, 560 pages).

The list price is $84.60.

Don’t faint. That’s typical. Yet thanks to www.directtextbook.com , you can find much better deals. I might go for a used copy that I can get through www.amazon.com, which goes for, uh, $.20. With shipping and handling, the total price comes to $3.69.

And that’s just one example. Students in the journalism classes that I teach at Gonzaga University (go Zags!) are required to buy the Associated Press Stylebook , list price of $17.95. By consulting directtextbook.com I find that www.buy.com is offering a copy for $13.38, which isn’t nearly as much a bargain. But the difference is still good for an espresso or two.

Directtextbooks.com claims that it uses “over 30 sources” to provide “students a consolidated textbook buying information source.” Seems worth a try, especially if you’re among those counting Hamiltons, not to mention Grants and Franklins .

Below: Alexander Hamilton is a familiar face to those accustomed to handling $10 bills.

AP photo