Stuck loading windows?

Hey guys,

I am a student who takes a lot of courses through correspondence. I recently learned my next class is entirely online and that one of my textbooks comes with a CD. Which apparently, is only able to be loaded on to a PC. I don't know what the CD contains or if it is completely necessary to load on my to my Mac (probably supplementary readings, etc) but I want to be prepared nonetheless.

So what are my options? I am completely new to the Mac and I really want to avoid loading Windows on the machine if at all possible.

Am I going to be forced into purchasing Vista and running it via Bootcamp/Parrells?

 

Are you kidding me? No one knows?