The Saga of Getting Construction Specifications: Principles and Applications

Archive of Older Topics Archive - Specifications Discussions #6
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This is a funny story I thought I should share.

I love my copy of “Construction Specifications: Principles and Applications.” I wish I had a safety deposit box big enough to fit it in.

In June, the forum gave me advice that it was THE BOOK to get, so I ordered one through a bookstore I found through a bookseller search site that could go through 100,000 booksellers worldwide. Through them, I found another book site with a seller who offered the book for $78.10. I thought, “What a deal!”

A week later I found out that I had diabetes, blood pressure high enough for a heart attack, and possible block arteries. So I blanked out that I had actually given anyone my credit card.

When my blood pressure came down, I remembered that I had wanted the book (but not that I have already paid for one) and found one on eBay for $84.91. The book was invaluable.

One Saturday, I found copies of the book for $13, $15, $25, and $60! I decided to get them all for my friends and an extra copy for myself! The remaining copies were $668.73 to $970.82.

None of my friends got their “gifts” from me. :frowning:

I checked with the booksellers and the copies had apparently gotten lost–surprisingly, none of the sellers had tracking.

Today, I got my $60 copy the bookseller had accidentally sent me a beat-up copy of Douzes Contes De Maupassant (French Edition) by Eli Blume that was worth $4.99. I spent 45 minutes with customer support letting them know (with screenshots of the book, receipt, mailing bag, and so on) that they had not sent me the correct book and that they should refund me.

Anyway, I’m working at getting some refunds.
Moral of the story This book is hard to come by. You should probably never lend it out.

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Take care of your health. The book is replacable. You are not.

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Dear Priscilla Lee,

As the co-author of the book with Hans Meier, I find this odd market condition both bizarre and amusing… and Hans would as well This notwithstanding, I am sorry you are having trouble finding a reasonably-priced copy. If I had one of my own, I would send it to you. Mine was lost in a move in 2013. I always thought I could simply order a new one. but now they are beyond my means!
I relate this not for any sympathy, but to point out the humorous irony of the situation.

Best,

Dave Wyatt

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David

Would the publisher allow you to take back the copyright and distribute it on your own?

If not, perhaps some brave reader will circulate a samizdat(Russian for underground self-published) version.

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Michael, I will ask Cengage if they want to release their rights. I always felt the price point was set too high. In my mind, it should have been released in a lower-priced paperback or e-book form. I think it would be interesting to see it become an underground publication!

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Any news on Cengage? I found out that I have no artery blockages last week from an angiogram. I am not to return to work until September 17th. As celebration, I bought myself a scanner. If scanning is blessed, I can scan the book I have locked in my Chinese (dowry) trunk and give the scanned version to the person in charge of the rights.

Pris

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Priscilla,I have not been able to contact Cengage yet. I will post back on this forum when I do. In the meantime, you can correspond with me at djwyattspecifier@hotmail.com.

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Thank you David!
I’m at priscilla.j.lee@gmail.com