On another note Dan Drezner comments on the high cost of hardcover books.

Hardcovers are a ripoff. And especially for students, let alone academics. Add this to the super high price of textbooks...

Why don't publishers release a paperback from the start? Price them up a little bit if they aren't economically feasible, but the price of hardcovers are so outrageous, they're really becoming sort of elitist. Plus, writing books is well, cheap. Who makes all this money of the publishing fees? It just seems excessive.