That is the author. In india they call rupees 'bucks' just like here in the states!

Ah that makes more sense now. Confusing cross cultural slang. It was shocking to see how little the expensive version the author passed up was.

Especially considering how poor the knock-off Indian domestic reprints are. Everything is smudgy and looks like it was printed on newsprint (either standard or glossy -- it varies), without trimmed edges and with a horrifically bad binding.

IMO, while it's nice to own a copy of a book that looks good and doesn't fall apart, the awful thing here is not the cosmetics but the fact that the copy is a mangled-up version with errors that have been fixed in editions over a decade ago.

You need to be able to trust a book. I received a misprint of a book I ordered online once, duplicate pages, missed half a chapter. I didn't need that particular chapter for the course I was taking then, and it was a week before the exam so I didn't send it back, it's a really cool book (Computational Geometry) that, like other interesting study books, I would pick up again and browse occasionally, if it weren't for this mess up. It's a shame, really.

Yes. And since most books usually bought are Indian editions, we rarely realize how great the original editions can be.

I am not sure if judging the value of currency for people is as easy as converting from Dollars to Rupee. I doubt if it is that simple.

When I was in India about a year ago, the exchange rate was about 50 Rs to 1 USD. So, I took to calling a 50 note a "Ghandi Buck" (sorry, guys, but it helped me remember the relative value, and it does have Ghandi's picture on it -- just like every other denomination).

That said, lunch in the company cafeteria was about 50 Rs, if I recall. So, where I would spend about 5 to 8 USD at home on a modest lunch, they would spend what amounted to 1 USD. Salaries are scaled accordingly, so yeah, those Rupees come dearly when you have to earn them locally.

100 Rs might exchange for 2 USD, but it feels like having to earn 10 USD (or more).

Yes. While the mathematics is simple, the relative salary and inflation tell an entire different story.

Also over the past year, the value of dollar has increased to Rs 67(or the value of Rupee has fallen, whatever). The point is, it burns more now. And the burn amount keeps fluctuating.

> "Ghandi Buck" (sorry, guys, but it helped me remember the relative value, and it does have Ghandi's picture on it -- just like every other denomination)

Apologies if I am pedagogical but it is "Gandhi" and not "Ghandi".