Author Richard Major
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What is the First Guidebook to International Universities and who is the author?
Welcome to Books and More. I'm your host, William Cooper, and with me is author Richard Major. Richard, how are you?
Really well. Thanks very much for having me on. It's midnight here in England. It's very quiet.
Nice. Well, you're about eight hours, or I guess exactly eight hours time zone ahead of us. Bright and late afternoon here in California. Before we jump into your book, why don't you give us a little background?
Yeah, I went to university here in Oxford, which is where I'm living again now, a long time ago. And instead of following a normal academic career, I pushed off around the world. So for the last 40 years i've been traveling everywhere living all over the world living in every continent i'm teaching all over the planet and um recently i've turned this experience into a book about global education which is why i'm here talking to you awesome and tell us about the book Yeah, the book's called First Guide to International Universities. So I'm showing it to you. It is actually the first book that's ever been written specifically for an American audience so that 17, 18 year old American young people can go abroad, get a degree, study entirely in English at a foreign university.
This book tells you everything you need to know about doing those things. why to do it, how to do it, where to go, what to do when you get there, what to do when you get back.
How did Richard Major’s 40‑year global travel shape his view on higher education?
So it's a total guidebook for the whole experience of a foreign education.
Awesome. And what prompted you to write the book?
Well, there's a gap in the market. That's the first thing. There's no way of finding out for many people how to do these things. Again and again, I've met people who say, I've got a teenage child who would love to go abroad, love to study at a foreign university, and nobody knows how to do it. So the main thing was simply to supply people with the information. There are lots of people, I think, in America who would like to go abroad to do their
What was the last thing you said? One. Have you written any books before?
Yes, I've written a lot. I've been a novelist for the last 15 years. So I've got six novels out and lots more coming. It's part of a cycle of novels, satirical novels. survey of the age, and this is a new departure for me, a work of nonfiction.
What was it like doing nonfiction? How did it compare to...
It's
a really different
experience.
When
I'm writing a novel, I work out what I want to say. I say it. It's hard work, but it does get done. At the end of the process, it goes to the publisher. There are a few argy-bargy debates back and forth about what to do, but it effectively comes out. You can move writing a nonfiction book, writing a book that is a guidebook for thousands of people. It's a very different experience. It's a commercial enterprise. Along with the designer and the cover designer and the editor.
Why did he decide there was a market gap for an American‑focused guide to studying abroad?
and the commercial side of the operation. So it's much more like being part of a company than being a novelist. Being a novelist means you're a solitary artist going out on your own. When you're writing a commercial book, you are part of a team, which has upsides and downsides.
What are the upsides and downsides?
Well, the upside is it is nice being part of a team. If you're writing a novel, there's a sense in which you're indulging yourself. Like any work of art, you're saying something which, you know, I think ought to be said, and one hopes entertaining, delighting. but it's a solitary thing, it's about you. When you're with a commercial book, when you're writing a guidebook for the use of lots and lots of people, you're doing something which is a corporate enterprise. It's a team sport when you're writing it, it's a team sport when you're getting it finished and edited, it's a team sport when it's out in the world and you're promoting it. It's a very different experience. It's probably good for a person because being a writer does mean that you are thinking about yourself.
You're with yourself. You're on your own a lot. It's a very lonely activity being a professional writer. And there you are in a room with yourself, tapping away.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the First Guidebook to International Universities and who is the author?
0:00–1:42
2
How did Richard Major’s 40‑year global travel shape his view on higher education?
1:42–3:48
3
Why did he decide there was a market gap for an American‑focused guide to studying abroad?
3:48–6:00
4
What challenges did he face moving from novel writing to a nonfiction guidebook?
6:00–8:18
5
Which part of the project did he enjoy most – the travel or the research?
8:18–10:26
6
What practical advice does he give to 15‑18‑year‑olds choosing a university abroad?
10:26–12:13
7
How does studying overseas save money and avoid U.S. campus culture wars?
12:13–14:16
8
Where can listeners find the book and learn more about Richard Major’s upcoming tour?
14:16–17:51