A modest thank you gift to Bears' Guide buyers

The new 14th edition of Bears' Guide is finally out -- seems it took forever -- but I think it turned out swell -- and I'd like to 'give back' a little something to the very kind news group participants who have been so supportive in these complicated times.

There has been a plan afoot for a multimedia approach to selling Bears’ Guide, with an accompanying talk by yours truly -- a 60-minute CD presentation on the matter of earning degrees at a distance, including facts, strategies, stories from the trenches, advice, whatever. It should exist in about a month, if all goes well. There is no decision yet as to whether it will be sold separately, or eventually included with the book, or used for other ‘promotional’ deals or even used at all.

In any event, I’d be glad to send this free CD to people who buy the 14th edition in the next couple of months. How will I know? How about this: either send me a copy of a sales receipt, or a photo of yourself holding the book. Disguises acceptable. This could happen by Email attachment, US mail, or fax, along with the place to mail it. I’ll pay the postage, even international. The offer is good for requests received by March 31st. Please don’t ask after this date, or ask to get or buy one if you don’t have the 14th edition; I do not wish to go into the CD fulfillment business.

Thank you.

John

John Bear, Box 7070, Berkeley, CA 94707
[email protected], fax (510) 217-3713

 

Dr. Bear---

Thanks for the CD offer! I have buying your guides for years now and I look forward to the newest edition, bonus freebie or not.

Regards,

Jeffrey

 

Dr. Bear,

I'm going to buy this just as soon as I see a copy at one of my local bookstores. Partially this is because of your reputation and the great reviews of your other books.

But I have to confess that I mostly want to do it as my way of thumbing my nose at that factwatcher idiot.

[It's got to be killing him that he can't post on this Board!]



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Steve
OptiBoard Discussion Forums

 

John, does this apply to my autographed copy?

Scott

 

Hi, John---I looked for your book at Borders today. It wasn't there yet. I'll try again in a couple of days.

Regards,

Jeffrey

 

Or is this?

 

I came across my first copy of Bear's Guide (later to become Bears' Guide) in 1992 or 1993, then purchased and read all subsequent editions. John, your research in distance learning has been invaluable.

 

I leafed through and highlighted one of the first editions of your books back in the late 1980s -- in search of a reachable Bachelors degree. It was extremely valuable in educating readers about the value of pursuing degrees that are properly accredited for greater utility. I wish I'd kept the book. It was fascinating and it ended with me getting multiple degrees and working in collegiate-level online education. Who would have guessed?

 

I bought my first Bears book in the early 1980s and took my first "correspondence course" soon after - yes, boys and girls, the internet wasn't around then! I've bought the updated book every time it comes out. I finally finished my BS this year, and now I'm in an online MBA program. I'll be buying the new book for friends that need the push

 

When is the 17th edition of Bears' Guide coming out?

 

Oh. My main point was to 'revive' a thread with a 14-year gap, and wonder if I set a record here.

Anyway: Ted asks, "When is the 17th edition of Bears' Guide coming out?"
John replies: "God only knows. And Godoni ain't talkin'. The copyright is owned by Random House, which acquired it when they bought Ten Speed Press a few years ago. Apparently they're still in the (very slow) process of deciding which of the 2,000+ titles they acquired to reprint, which to revise, and which to dump. Of my 14 Ten Speed titles, two have been resurrected (both cookbooks), three dumped, and 9 not yet decided. My co-author (daughter Mariah) and I are thinking of proposing to them that we combine three once-popular titles into a single book, "Bears' Guide to Finding and Financing Your Online Degree." But we really don't want to do all of the necessary research and updating. (Any volunteers?))

 

I am willing to donate my copy of the 14th Edition (my favorite) to this effort. It is entirely intact although well-worn with highlighting and margin notes all over the place.

 

How does one become a Bears' Guide volunteer?

What duties does a Bears' Guide volunteer perform?

 

I too came across my first copy of Bears' Guide in 1992. I found it on the discard pile at the City University of Seattle Library when I was in the last semester of my MBA in Entrepreneurship. It was the 9th edition (1985). I have since bought the 10th through the 16th editions and have gone backwards in time and acquired some but not all of the 1st through the 8th editions. Of the 9th through the 16th editions, one sustained mold damage and all the pages fell out and my parents threw it away and two others were given away to Seattle Metro bus drivers (one was looking for a PhD in Military History and the other was looking for a PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology). The older (pre-1985) editions that I have are the 6th, 7th, and 8th editions. So I still need the 1st through 5th editions and plug a few holes in my library for the copies that got given away or molded (the 10th and 11th editions). Thank you, Doctor Bear, you have done great service to the cause of non-traditional education.