A Suitable Textbook for the Classroom. However... A Review by

If you have ever searched for a suitable graduate-level textbook on e-Learning,1 you will appreciate it when I say the process is like hunting for a needle in a haystack. Many available titles on e-Learning have a business practice overtone. Although this is to be expected, for e-Learning is big business, such books often are unsuitable for a graduate-level course in the field of education. When I finally found and finished reading The SAGE Handbook of E-learning Research, I knew I had the right book. It was not only suitable for graduate-level education classes but clearly valuable for doctoral students interested in research and development, learning models, and historical perspectives on e-Learning. The editors, Richard Andrews and Caroline Haythornthwaite, and 32 other contributors (ranging from graduate stu-dent to distinguish professor) took stock of “progress in e-learning research, ” addressed “a range of issues from student experience to policy, ” and provided “a foundation for further research and development ” (p. 1). One may wonder if a mere 560 pages can do justice to the field of e-Learning. However, I found myself quite satisfied by the breadth and the depth of the topics covered. The edi-tors ensured a long shelf life for the book by covering the latest trends in e-Learning devel-opment, such as third-generation (3G) mobile phones, immersive (whole-body) vir-tual environments, and online games. The 23 chapters are grouped into five parts: “Contexts for Researching E-learning,” “Theory, ” “Policy, ” “Language and Literacy,” and “Design Issues. ” The reader will find trea-tises on topics such as e-Learning’s histor