How The University Works

I’m told that Amazon has picked HTUW for 40% off back-to-school pricing, which means they’ve shaved 9 bucks off the 23 dollar list.
Yes, I know they do it by being union-busting assholes and crapping on the life of the mind, as represented by independent booksellers.

There are several new confirmed appearances for the spring. Some of these events are free and open to the public.  With the exception of possible appearances in Southern California (Occidental College and/or Cal State San Marcos), I think I’m pretty much as booked as I can handle until very late in 2009.
“Social Media and […]

I’m humbled and touched by a slew of spring/summer 2008 reviews, by Stanley Aronowitz (below), Jan Clausen (below), Louis Proyect (the Unrepentant Marxist), Jon Whiten of In These Times, Mr. Adjunct Whore , Anna Creech at BlogCritics, Gregory Zobel at Adjunct Advice,  Delight and Instruct, and Paolo Do in Posse (Italian only), and of course the very […]

If you’re trying to get the book from an online bookseller and seeing an estimated delivery of 1 week, it’s because the first printing of HTUW has sold out. The second printing was due in warehouses April 4, and should be shipping shortly. (The best price–$15.84 to $17.60–is at Barnes and Noble. Ordering directly […]

I don’t know how long this ultra-discounted price will last, but Amazon has just posted the lowest price for the book ($15.84, matching the Barnes & Noble ‘member’ price, and the NYU Press “convention discount.”)
Next month, I begin a series of book-related appearances with April stops in Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, North Carolina and New […]

If you’re a diehard Amazonian, they’ve once again dropped the price on HTUW, to $17.25. I’m not sure how this is triggered. Perhaps it’s by the book’s rank on a competitor, such as B&N. I am not going to change the list price on all the pages this time–I’d just as soon […]

Several folks have asked why I wasn’t steering book buyers to the major unionized online bookseller, Powell’s. Answer: they were charging 6.50 over list price for pre-orders of the paperback. The book is now shipping, and Powell’s is charging list price ($22), as is Amazon.
Barnes and Noble continues to offer the book at a […]

Teaching as much as an 8/8 load… raising children on food stamps and without health insurance… flying the freeways over hundreds of miles… crashing on couches and holding student conferences in hallways and fast-food restaurants… just another lousy job in the service economy.
All over the country, administrations have established contingency as the norm in academic […]

The first copies of How the University Works: Higher Education and the Low-Wage Nation should be available at the MLA annual convention–just drop by the NYU booth. Or else you can order it from Barnes and Noble ($17.60) or Amazon ($17.25). I’ll be there, shooting a bunch of video interviews–with Cary Nelson, Jeffrey Williams, […]