While a novel writer/publisher might try to sell a book for $65 – few readers would buy the book because the availability of other good novels for $10-20/book are widely available – and few people “have to” read that $65 novel – as the book is read solely for enjoyment. So charging more than the going rate for a novel means very rapidly declining unit sales – means the writer/publisher make less money.

Computer Science books address a specific field of interest compared to mass market books. So if the “The Algorithm Design Manual” costs $65 why not buy “Algorithms” by Sanjoy Dasgupta for $33 instead? BTW, “The Algorithm Design Manual” sells more copies than “Algorithms” by Sanjoy Dasgupta on Amazon (based on sales rankings)

If “The Algorithm Design Manual” is the better book to learn from – and the book is being read for getting a degree or professional reasons the “The Algorithm Design Manual” is the better buy especially if one considers the 10-100 hours you may spend with this book. So higher book prices don’t hurt unit sales very much.

In case you think this is a matter of “evil greed” think about this. Would you accept a accept a different job with similar working conditions, hours, people, advancement opportunities, commute, etc. – at 20% less pay? If your answer is “no” you are acting the same way as the writer/publisher of “The Algorithm Design Manual”