Will the real book "S Programming" please stand up. As I searched for this book both on AMAZON.COM and AMAZON.CO.UK, I found two different versions. On AMAZON.COM my search reveals S Programming (Statistics and Computing) by Brian D. Ripley, William N. Venables. Our Price: $59.95. Availability: Usually ships within 24 hours. Hardcover - 264 pages 1st edition (May 15, 2000) Springer Verlag; ISBN: 0387989668. But on AMAZON.CO.UK I discover S Programming, W.N. Venables, B.D. Ripley. Our Price: ?44.50 Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours Hardcover - 400 pages 3rd Ed edition (30 June, 2000). Springer-Verlag New York Inc.; ISBN: 0387989668. The implicit exchange rate between these two books, 1st ed. and 3rd, is 1.347 USD per GBP. I assume the 3rd edition from AMAZON.CO.UK is the most recent, it certainly is the better buy. But when I tried to explain all this to the AMAZON.COM folks I got merely computerized responses. They don't seem to get it, but I'm sure Drs. Venables and Ripley will. Happy holidays, ANDREW Andrew Criswell Professor of Finance Graduate School, Bangkok University -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- r-help mailing list -- Read http://www.ci.tuwien.ac.at/~hornik/R/R-FAQ.html Send "info", "help", or "[un]subscribe" (in the "body", not the subject !) To: r-help-request at stat.math.ethz.ch _._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._
On Mon, 1 Jan 2001, Andrew Criswell wrote:> Will the real book "S Programming" please stand up. > > As I searched for this book both on AMAZON.COM and AMAZON.CO.UK, I found two > different versions. > > On AMAZON.COM my search reveals > > S Programming (Statistics and Computing) by Brian D. Ripley, William N. > Venables. Our Price: $59.95. Availability: Usually ships within 24 hours. > Hardcover - 264 pages 1st edition (May 15, 2000) Springer Verlag; ISBN: > 0387989668. > > But on AMAZON.CO.UK I discover > > S Programming, W.N. Venables, B.D. Ripley. Our Price: £44.50 Availability: > Usually dispatched within 24 hours Hardcover - 400 pages 3rd Ed edition (30 > June, 2000). Springer-Verlag New York Inc.; ISBN: 0387989668. > > The implicit exchange rate between these two books, 1st ed. and 3rd, is > 1.347 USD per GBP. I assume the 3rd edition from AMAZON.CO.UK is the most > recent, it certainly is the better buy. But when I tried to explain all this > to the AMAZON.COM folks I got merely computerized responses. They don't seem > to get it, but I'm sure Drs. Venables and Ripley will.Both are wrong in detail. It *is* in the R FAQ, or look at http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/pub/MASS3/Sprog/ We believe US$59.95 to be correct for the price in the US. -- Brian D. Ripley, ripley at stats.ox.ac.uk Professor of Applied Statistics, http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/~ripley/ University of Oxford, Tel: +44 1865 272861 (self) 1 South Parks Road, +44 1865 272860 (secr) Oxford OX1 3TG, UK Fax: +44 1865 272595 -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- r-help mailing list -- Read http://www.ci.tuwien.ac.at/~hornik/R/R-FAQ.html Send "info", "help", or "[un]subscribe" (in the "body", not the subject !) To: r-help-request at stat.math.ethz.ch _._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._
The Synopsis on Amazon.co.uk seems to refer to the book "Modern Applied Statistics with S-Plus, but otherwise these are the same two books. The US price of 59.95 converts to about 40.16 UK pounds (using a recent exchange rate). Thus, except for the cost of mailing, it would seem that the US price is slightly better. I would suggest you explore the shipping options (both price and delivery time) for the two sites and make a choice based on that. My guess is that the US site will have a slightly lower shipping price and slightly faster delivery. You (or perhaps Brian Ripley or Bill Venables) might want to contact Amazon.co.uk and suggest that they correct their catalog. Unfortunately, I don't much influence on these matters. Regards, --Mike>***> "Andrew Criswell" wrote (Mon, 01 Jan 2001 02:56:54 +0700) > Will the real book "S Programming" please stand up. > > As I searched for this book both on AMAZON.COM and AMAZON.CO.UK, I found two > different versions. > > On AMAZON.COM my search reveals > > S Programming (Statistics and Computing) by Brian D. Ripley, William N. > Venables. Our Price: $59.95. Availability: Usually ships within 24 hours. > Hardcover - 264 pages 1st edition (May 15, 2000) Springer Verlag; ISBN: > 0387989668. > > But on AMAZON.CO.UK I discover > > S Programming, W.N. Venables, B.D. Ripley. Our Price: #44.50 Availability: > Usually dispatched within 24 hours Hardcover - 400 pages 3rd Ed edition (30 > June, 2000). Springer-Verlag New York Inc.; ISBN: 0387989668. > > The implicit exchange rate between these two books, 1st ed. and 3rd, is > 1.347 USD per GBP. I assume the 3rd edition from AMAZON.CO.UK is the most > recent, it certainly is the better buy. But when I tried to explain all this > to the AMAZON.COM folks I got merely computerized responses. They don't seem > to get it, but I'm sure Drs. Venables and Ripley will. > > Happy holidays, > ANDREW > > Andrew Criswell > Professor of Finance > Graduate School, Bangkok University-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- r-help mailing list -- Read http://www.ci.tuwien.ac.at/~hornik/R/R-FAQ.html Send "info", "help", or "[un]subscribe" (in the "body", not the subject !) To: r-help-request at stat.math.ethz.ch _._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._
Mike Meyer writes:> -----Original Message----- > From: Michael M. Meyer [mailto:mikem at salter-point.com] > Sent: Monday, 1 January 2001 7:58 > To: Andrew Criswell > Cc: r-help at stat.math.ethz.ch > Subject: Re: [R] The book: S Programming > > > The Synopsis on Amazon.co.uk seems to refer to the book "Modern Applied > Statistics with S-Plus, but otherwise these are the same two books. > The US price of 59.95 converts to about 40.16 UK pounds (using a recent > exchange rate). Thus, except for the cost of mailing, it would seem > that the US price is slightly better. I would suggest you explore the > shipping options (both price and delivery time) for the two sites and > make a choice based on that. My guess is that the US site will have a > slightly lower shipping price and slightly faster delivery.I hate to mention this now, but for some odd reason before Christmas amazon.com had S Programming on a special price of ... US$17.98, a 70% reduction on the normal price. I was quite depressed about it at the time but now it is back to its normal (= exhorbitant) price I don't feel quite so bad! I kept an eye on it while it was at its low price and its rank shot up from around the 50000 mark to about the 5000 mark, so they must have shifted a few before Christmas. That's my reason for mentioning this: if anyone is thinking about buying it now (a) kick yourself for missing the 18 buck price, and (b) get in quickly since supply is probably getting a bit low. It is now back down to the 22000s and sliding so I suspect things are (not surprisingly!) slowing down a bit. I agree entirely with Brian that trying to get the message across either to publishers or online booksellers is a totally futile business. I speak from bitter experience as well. While I am on the Amazon business, I have to say the reviews are not always the most sensitive and perceptive around, too. The first one for S Prog says, in effect, "I was looking for an introductory book on this subject. This is not one and does not claim to be one. Nevertheless I went ahead and bought it anyway and, you know what, I found it very tough going... Therefore it's crap. Buy something else." I loved it. I can't work out why so many customers did not find it useful... :-)> You (or perhaps Brian Ripley or Bill Venables) might want to contact > Amazon.co.uk and suggest that they correct their catalog. > Unfortunately, I don't have much influence on these matters.No one has much influence on these matters. What you are observing is the purest form of random process this side of quantum physics. My best wishes to everyone for a happy new year. Bill. -- Bill Venables, CSIRO/CMIS Environmetrics Project Email: Bill.Venables at cmis.csiro.au Phone: +61 7 3826 7251 Fax: +61 7 3826 7304 Postal: PO Box 120, Cleveland, Qld 4163, AUSTRALIA -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- r-help mailing list -- Read http://www.ci.tuwien.ac.at/~hornik/R/R-FAQ.html Send "info", "help", or "[un]subscribe" (in the "body", not the subject !) To: r-help-request at stat.math.ethz.ch _._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._