Consider the economics of the situation. He needs this information from somewhere and you've offered two possibilities.
- Teach him yourself
- Buy the books for him
Even if you're a very low-end developer, you're making at least $10/hour. Now suppose it takes at least 8 hours (assuming he is the most astute student the world has ever seen) to learn everything you could teach him. That's $80 out of someone's pocket plus whatever they'd have made from your productivity on a paying project because you had to take time out of your day to get a team member up to speed. On the other hand, suppose you pick up the books used for $15 a piece, mail them to him (I know, international shipping's fairly expensive, but not $50 expensive), and let him get up to speed. I'm certain if you bring that to whatever manager you have (if you aren't the manager), he'll accept the latter. Afterall, a machine doesn't work properly if one of the gears is missing half its teeth.
