WARNING - Textbook Change

[rickyspears]

I usually buy my textbook before I pay for a class. This allows me to order a book online and allow time for it to arrive before I pay for a class. Then I have everything I need to start a class as soon as I pay for it.

Based on the General Ministries Textbook List, I ordered The New Manners & Customs of Bible Times by Ralph Gower.

I just paid for this class and was looking over the syllabus. I noticed that the page numbers didn't seem to coincide with the book (i.e. the pages to read each day didn't correspond to chapter breaks and the syllabus ends with reading page 249 while the textbook is 335 pages long).

I eventually realized what was wrong. The Class page and Syllabus lists the textbook as The Illustrated Guide To Bible Customs and Curiosities by George W. Knight. So there is a discrepancy between the General Ministries Textbook List and the Syllabus.

There is also another problem. The Illustrated Guide To Bible Customs and Curiosities appears to be out of print. You can't buy it directly from either Amazon or Barnes & Noble, however you can purchase a used copy from an Amazon Merchant or the Barnes & Noble Marketplace.

I don't know for sure which book the final exam for this class is based on. I'm going to email and find out. I'll reply to this post with whatever I find out.

[Darius Williams]

You can also go to your local Christian bookstore and ask a store clerk to order it for you. That's how I got my copy.

[rickyspears]

Darius - So, you're saying the book on the Syllabus is correct and the Book list is the incorrect one? Is the test taken from the book on the Syallabus?

I've also written to Dr. Harrison to see what he says.

[Darius Williams]

The book I used for the course was in fact The Illustrated Guide to Bible Customs and Curiosities. Did you need the book because I can mail you my copy?

[rickyspears]

Darius - Thanks for the offer. I was able to purchase the other book and it arrived earlier this week. I've read half of it so far and I can confirm for others that the test is from The Illustrated Guide to Bible Customs & Curiosities.

All - I did receive a response from Dr. Harrison; I apologize for not posting that response earlier. He said that the textbook was changed because the original textbook was no longer in print. I would expect that there will be another change at some point since the new textbook is out of print now too. He also said that the book list has been removed from the web site because of potential book changes like this. So it appears that the syllabus will always show the correct book.

Having said all that, I personally think The New Manners & Customs of Bible Times is a superior textbook to The Illustrated Guide to Bible Customs & Curiosities. I am half-way through each of them at this point. I plan to read them both as part of this class even though only one is required. I feel that by reading both of them I will have a much better understanding of the material. If anyone has other books they would recommend on this topic, it might be nice to create a list of those books here in the discussion board.