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How to Tell the Edition of a Book

Last Updated: January 22, 2020 References

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Hunter Rising . Hunter Rising is a wikiHow Staff Writer based in Los Angeles. He has more than three years of experience writing for and working with wikiHow. Hunter holds a BFA in Entertainment Design from the University of Wisconsin - Stout and a Minor in English Writing. This article has been viewed 141,733 times. Learn more...

Whether you’re a book collector searching for a first edition or you’re a student looking for the most recent copy of a textbook, finding out which edition of a book you have is crucial. While most publishers will lay out the information for you, it may still be tricky to find. By examining your book carefully, you’ll be able to tell which edition of a book you possess.

Checking the Copyright Page

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Image titled Tell the Edition of a Book Step 2

Image titled Tell the Edition of a Book Step 3

Examining Other Parts of the Book

Image titled Tell the Edition of a Book Step 4

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Example Copyright Page

what is a books edition

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To tell the edition of a book, look at the bottom of the copyright page. You should see “First Edition” followed by a year. If there are no other editions listed, the book you have is the first edition. However, if there are other editions listed, your book will be the most recent one. If the edition isn’t listed on the copyright page, look on the website that sells the book to find out. You could also look on the dust jacket to see if there’s a 5-digit code. If so, this indicates it’s a special book club edition. To learn how to decode an ISBN to find the edition, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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What is the difference between edition and version?

Kathy in Eastern China asked, "What is the difference between edition and version ?"

Great question! The uses of these two nouns are similar. Both edition and version are used to talk about stories, books, or other media content that has been changed in some way. However, there are significant differences that you should be aware of, as described below. Edition Edition is more limited. Use it when talking specifically about material that is published either in print or on digital media, such as radio, television, or the internet. More specifically, edition has three main meanings.

1) It can mean a particular version of a book or other media product, as in these sentences:

2) It can be used to mean all the copies of a book that are published at one time, as in this sentence:

3) It is used to refer to one of the several versions of a newspaper or news show that are printed or broadcast each day, each week, or on some other regular schedule, as in this sentence:

Version Version is a broader term. It is sometimes used when referring to published material, especially new releases of software programs, but it can also be used to talk about stories or explanations that people share with each other, and about differences in style and form. See the sentences with version , below, for some examples.

I hope this helps.

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what is a books edition

How to Tell If a Book Is a First Edition: A Complete Guide

In publishing, an edition is all copies of a book that are produced and printed at the same time. The term “first edition,” however, is used differently by publishers and collectors. In this article, we’ll try to understand the meaning behind the term, ways to identify first editions, and why these books are so valuable and sought after.

What Is a First Edition Book

What does first edition mean.

When a new book sees the light of day, it’s classified as a first edition book. If sales take off and the book becomes popular, it goes through several re-printings, yielding multiple editions. Sometimes different publishers publish a book over a span of many years, and sometimes re-printings accommodate film accompaniments.

A “ first edition ” is classified as the first time a book is printed by a publishing company and distributed commercially, but the “true” first edition always refers to the book’s original printing date with the initial publisher.

what is a books edition

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First Edition vs. Second Printing

The first edition may also include a second printing. A second printing means the publisher was able to successfully promote the book. The publishing company received more requests for the book than the number of first editions printed for the first publication date. While the second printings are printed early in a book’s life cycle, they are not considered first editions.

First Edition and First State

It’s also useful to understand what the first state means with regards to first editions. Each collector is interested in the first edition, the original copy, which means the very first copy that was published before any changes were made during the production of the first printing. These changes are called “states,” so the most valuable and expensive first edition copy may bear the title of “First edition, first state.” It is the hardest thing to get.

Limited Edition

A limited edition is a publication with a restricted number of copies, meaning a smaller number of copies are ordered and no more will be printed once these are sold. The author generally signs these, and the publication is purposefully limited.

First Trade Edition

First trade editions are another type of printing distributed for general commercial sale. They fall into the category of a true first edition if they are printed simultaneously with the original book.

Advanced Reading Copy

Finally, advanced reading copies go out to booksellers and reviewers. The cover of this book will most likely be labeled as “advanced reading copy” (ARCs). These are not considered true first editions, as they are technically pre-publication printings, and they are not the copies collectors are after.

Second Edition

A second (or any subsequent) edition differs from a second printing, as it is not simply a new copy of the first edition but the copy that has changes in the text:

Most commonly, new editions are released every 10–15 years, but many textbook publishers release new editions 3–4 years.

How To Know If a Book Is a First Edition

First editions are the most valuable, but only if they are true first editions, first printings. Therefore, if you get a book that’s marked as a first edition, don’t get excited immediately. The book could belong to any one of the aforementioned categories. Before you start making plans on how you’d sell it on eBay, you need to carry out a thorough check. So how to tell if a book is a first edition?

There are four major criteria your book must meet, be it a hardcover or a paperback, to be considered a true first edition. You can check whether “first edition” is mentioned on the copyright page, but you also need to check it for the correct publisher, date, edition number, and print run number . Different publishers arrange this information differently, so, with some books, be prepared to play a detective.

1. Publisher

Most likely, you’ve researched this information, so you know what you are looking for. For instance, Pride and Prejudice was published by Penguin books:

what is a books edition

2. Copyright Date

If the copyright date is the same as the publishing year, you are on the right track. Here is how a copyright date looks in Wordcrime: Solving Crime Through Forensic Linguistics : © John Olsson, 2009

what is a books edition

3. Edition number

This information may be written on the copyright page, but in some cases, publishers do not mention it in the first edition. In this case, you have to get to the next step.

4. Print Run Number

Print run number (print line) is usually the lowest (but not necessarily) number found on the copyrighting page. It can help you identify the very “first edition.” Print runs are sequences of numbers (1–10), usually printed in descending/ascending, alternating order, or even without any particular order.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

Regardless of the sequence, if you see “1” in the print run, it means the first edition . Here is the first edition of Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavio r by Jonah Berger:

what is a books edition

In the second printing, the “1” will be removed, and the lowest number seen will be “2.” Following this logic, the fifth edition may have a print run like this: 10 9 8 7 6 5 .

In 100 Years of Annoying the French , the numbers alternate from left to right. This is done intentionally to keep the number line centered.

2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1

what is a books edition

So when the numbers are removed from each side with each subsequent printing, the line stays centered, as in The Heather Blazing :

what is a books edition

The print run number may also be accompanied by the statement about the copy being a first edition or not:

First edition

 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

(Fourth printing)

Here is the first edition, second printing of It’s Different at Dartmouth by Jean Alexander Kemley:

what is a books edition

The print run may also look like this:

89 90 91 92 93 CC/RRD 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

what is a books edition

The year of publication is on the left; the printing number is on the right, and in the middle—there is a code that identifies the contracting printer if the printing was outsourced. So, this print run roughly reads that the book was published in 1993, first printing, printing done by R.R. Donnelley Sons Company (presumably). 

Here is another good example from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows , which is actually the first printing made in 2011:

what is a books edition

There might be a variation: instead of numbers, print runs may consist of letters:

a b c d e f g h i j k

Here, “A” indicates the first printing, and “C” would denote the third printing, and etc.

Impressions

Sometimes, you may see the following line in a book: “First edition, second impression.” In publishing, an impression is a term to denote an iteration of the manufacturing process. This is relatively the same as the second printing . Here is an example from Longman English Grammar :

what is a books edition

You may get easily confused, given all these variations, but once you go through the steps a couple of times, you’ll be able to identify the first edition right away.

You may need to do deeper research with older books, as the print run system dates back to World War II and the books published before the 1940s will have different hints. If you are interested in the topic and want to learn more about the old and rare first editions, we recommend researching old publishers and their individual practices. Start with this list of 20th-century publisher’s book series as an example.

Now when you know how to identify a first edition book, let’s get to the point of how much you can get for it.

How Much Is a First Edition?

First edition books are a pretty specific niche and a point of interest for fans and collectors mostly. High prices behind some of the first edition copies can be explained by the fact that the first print run was small (a few thousand copies), the book was a bestseller, the author is/was popular, and also by the demand—the willingness of many people to pay the price. Also, with more time passing, these copies get harder to get, causing an increase in their value and price on second-hand markets.

Let’s have a look at a popular example. How much are first edition Harry Potter books worth?  Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone , published on 30 June 1997 by Bloomsbury, featuring the print run number 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1, now can be worth as much as $40,000 and even $55,000 !

The book is so expensive because only 500 copies were published; 300 more went to libraries. So if your copy looks like the example below, we have bad news for you: it’s not the first edition but one of many that followed suit. Ah, disappointment.

what is a books edition

Now let’s have a look at the most popular first editions searched this year and their prices.

Top 5 Most Searched First Editions in 2021

A christmas carol first edition.

A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas , is the first and the most popular of Charles Dickens’ Christmas books, and its 6,000 copies were sold out right away. It was published by Chapman and Hall on 19 December 1843. This very first edition with red and green title-page, cream endpapers, Stave One, was sold at Sotheby’s for £13,750 ($18,513) in 2019. Impressive, isn’t it?

What makes the book so fascinating is that, according to the auction’s description, it is “possibly a unique copy in this state.” It is basically the only copy dated 1843 with its title page printed in green and red inks. All other existing copies are dated a year older. Among other distinguishing features of this first edition are yellow-coated endpapers and the binding.

Don Quixote First Edition

The first edition of Don Quixote de La Mancha published in 1605, is a rare find nowadays. Written by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright, the book was sold on an auction in 1989 for as much as $1.5 million and hasn’t changed hands since then. It is considered “a founding work of Western literature,” bears the label of the first modern novel, and is basically one of the most-translated books in the world.

what is a books edition

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn First Edition

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was written by Betty Smith and published by Harper and Brothers in 1943. Regardless of its length (491 pages), the book doesn’t make you struggle through the text. The plot is simple but intriguing and raises a number of difficult social issues no less relevant today than they were in 1943.

According to the Online Guide for Rare Book Collectors , “First edition is stated on the copyright page above “D-S” and below “8-43”. Binding is green cloth with paper spine label. $2.75 price is on the upper corner of the front dust jacket flap, and “5338” is on the bottom.” The first edition copies are offered on eBay at $1,250 and on Etsy at $4,700.

Where the Wild Things Are First Edition

Where the Wild Things Are is a children’s picture book by Maurice Sendak, an American writer and illustrator. Originally published by Harper Row in 1963, the book has got several media adaptations and has sold over 19 million copies worldwide.

It’s a first edition, first printing, inscribed and signed by Maurice Sendak and containing an original drawing, is now offered on Biblio at $22,500! A less expensive first edition copy was sold at Nate D. Sanders Auctions at $3,300.

A Tale of Two Cities First Edition

Another sought-after first edition book by Charles Dickens on our list is A Tale of Two Cities , which is offered on Biblio at $17,262.50 at the moment from Jarndyce Antiquarian Booksellers. This copy is described as  “probably the most difficult Dickens first edition in cloth…and probably as good as it is possible to obtain.”

A Tale of Two Cities , originally published in 1859, is a historical novel about the French Revolution set in London and Paris. It is considered one of the most popular works of fiction as well as one of the most printed original English books. If you have an old copy in the attic, you definitely need to check it. Who knows, maybe you are lucky to have the first edition!

So when you decide to sell that book after you’re finished, don’t market it as a first edition unless you’re 100 percent sure. First editions are rare finds, and even if you happen to come across one, you’ll need to double-check and follow all the leads to make sure it is the one. We hope that this guide will be useful and instructive in your first edition book research.

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Natalie Meyers

Natalie Meyers is a freelance writer and editor with more than 15 years of experience. As an English major and a psychology graduate, she worked as a teacher and a counselor. As a writer, she's covered a diverse range of topics from technology to publishing. She is an avid reader who believes that books help us become more authentic versions of ourselves. At BookScouter, she's a smart writer and an expert in all things books.

What Is The Difference Between Books And Editions? The Best Answer

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Books and editions have some differences. But if you didn’t know, you would think otherwise. There are also different types of books and editions. Types of books include fantasy, horror, action, adventure, graphic novel , comic book , historical fiction , etc. Editions comprise the first edition, second edition, and so on.

In this article, we’re going to look at the difference between books and editions. Keep on reading to know the differences.

Table of Contents

What Are Books?

Simply put, books are a set of printed sheets of paper bound together between covers. The earlier forms of books are scrolls. The change to books from scrolls dates far back to the Roman Empire.

Books are media for recording specific information in the form of images or writings. Books are made of multiple pages (paper, parchment, papyrus), held together and protected by covers, front, and back.

History Of Books

Humans have used numerous varieties of objects in ancient civilizations for writing. Examples of such are rocks, stones, bones, clay, tree bark, metal sheets, etc.

Humans have used tablets in the Bronze and Iron Age for writing. They were produced from clay, wax, etc. The binding of several wax tablets together was the precursor of the modern bound books. Modern books were formerly known as a codex, which means a block of wood.

Humans made scrolls from papyrus, parchments, and thin wood. They also used them for writing in Ancient Egypt. They’re typically glued papyrus sheets together to form scrolls.

A codex consists of leaves of thin wood of uniform sizes bound together along the edge and held between two thick materials.

Manuscripts:

When papyruses were scarce during the fall of the Roman Empire, parchments became popular. People made parchments from an animal’s skin. The parchments were goats and sheep’s skin which are scrapped and dried but not tanned. It was what the Roman scholars used to write their manuscripts.

Modern Daybook:

The modern-day book is what is obtainable today. They are made of thin sheets, bound together at the edge, covered and protected by two covers. The cover could be a hardcover or a softcover depending on the thickness of the material used.

Audiobooks:

The words written in a book can be read aloud, recorded, and saved on tapes, discs, or other memory devices. You can refer to them as audiobooks. An example is the audio Bible.

These are electronic books. They are books in soft format. They are made available through the internet, on smartphones, electronic tablets, and other electronic devices. They can come in ‘Word Doc format,’ ‘PDF’ or ‘EPUB.’

Books can consist only of photographs, drawings, puzzles, etc. it is also possible for a book’s pages to be left blank. It may also feature abstract lines to support entries. Examples of such books are an autograph book, an account book, a notebook, photograph album, appointment book, diaries, or a sketch pad.

Types Of Books

You can classify books by content and physical format.

Books by Content

They are often separated based on content into fictional books and non-fictional books. There are also other types, such as musical notebooks.

By Physical format

This is where publishing comes in. To publish a book means to produce it in printed or electronic formats for the user to buy and use. Physical books may come in hardcover backs, ordinary paperbacks, glossy cover backs, spiral bounds , etc.

What Are Editions?

Bibliographers define a book’s edition as copies of a printed book. It is from the same type, including even all the variants with a minor typographical difference.

You can only speak of editions of a book when you have first produced and published one and then made a significant change in the book and re-print and publish it. It doesn’t matter if you edited a few typographical errors; the change you made must be essential before you can call it another edition of that book.

To find out the edition of a particular book, open to the page that contains the publication information like the copyright, publisher’s name, etc., there, you’ll find the edition of that book.

With this knowledge, it won’t be wrong for the announcer at a book launch to call a copy of the book an edition launched on that occasion. It is only an example of that book. Since one believes that everybody who came for the event already knew the book we are talking about, those set of copies launched are all a particular edition of that book, most likely the first edition.

Types Of Edition

Why Editions?

Editions of books exist because something changed in the first print. Putting books in the edition is to mark that change for consumers, sellers, and publishers.

Another reason why books are in editions is to allow more people to buy the book at a cheaper rate. It is true if the previous print was too expensive for most people to buy due to the quality of materials used. Editions accommodate for new information to be in a book.

We can safely conclude that editions are books, either physical (printed copies) or an e-book, while books can either be written in editions or not. All editions are books, but not all books are in editions.

It would be safe to say that, in a way, the term ‘editions’ becomes relevant when there are several books in print. It can’t be an edition if it were to be one book.

About the Author

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CJ grew up admiring books. His family owned a small bookstore throughout his early childhood, and he would spend weekends flipping through book after book, always sure to read the ones that looked the most interesting. Not much has changed since then, except now some of those interesting books he picks off the shelf were designed by his company!

How can I tell if my book is a first edition?

What are first edition books how do i tell if my book is a first edition we answer these questions and more to help budding collectors..

what is a books edition

What are first edition books? And how can you tell if a book is a first edition? We try to answer some of these burning questions below, alongside our pointers on how to spot a first edition book. 

What is a first edition book?

A first edition is a book that has been printed and distributed for the first time. A book can go through several print cycles, sometimes with edits that add in author notes or additional material, so the book in its original form - during its initial release (or first printing) to the public - is what is generally defined as a first edition by collectors and sellers. 

Should I care what edition my book is? Are all first editions valuable?

Possibly! Depending on the popularity and demand of a book, it could become valuable further down the line. First editions are what some book collectors hunt for, and are often willing to part with considerable amounts of money. As an example, true first editions of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone are selling for  thousands of pounds 20 years later .   If you see yourself as a budding collector, then noting our tips for spotting a first edition below may make your life a little easier. If you never plan to part with your books, then you can ignore what edition your book is and just enjoy the insides for what they are: great pieces of literature.  It's worth keeping in mind that every book published has a first edition, but not every book is desired by collectors. 

Open book on table with books in the background

How do I tell if my book is a first edition copy?

This is where things start to become a little confusing, as different publishers use different identifiers. The general rule of thumb is to take a look at the copyright page and look at the numbers and dates.

The Numbers

A number line is usually present, such as  9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1  or  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 . If a 1 is present - in any sequence - it's usually a sign that the book is a first edition. If a book reads something like  3 5 7 9 8 6 4 , then your book is not part of the first printing (the example above indicates a third printing cycle). 

If the date on a copyright page matches the date on the title page, it's likely that your copy is a first edition. These dates can differ if the publication date is earlier than copyright is acquired, but if this is the indicator used you will want to ensure both dates match.

The Edition Identifier

Some publishers will print the words 'First Edition', 'First Printing', 'First Impression' or similar on their copyright page to make it easier to identify which printing a book was part of. It's always worth checking the number in this situation, as the words can sometimes be left on the copyright page either by mistake or intentionally, leading to some confusion.  Watch our BookBreak video for some tips and tricks on second-hand book shopping below: 

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How is a book printed, beautiful and unique book covers, classic books to read at least once in your lifetime.

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When Is a Second Edition Right for Your Book?

open book with footbands

A book should only be released as a second edition if readers who already own the first edition would benefit from owning the second.

To unpack that, start by imagining your reader. If a reader owns the first edition of your book, will it be worthwhile for them to purchase an updated second edition? In the case of a textbook, for example, where information can change rapidly, the answer is absolutely.

On the other hand, in the case of fiction, if an author has made minor corrections to typos and perhaps incorporated a few developmental edits, a reader is unlikely to reread the novel.

Mistakes Authors Make with Second Editions

Determining whether to do a second edition can be tricky. Here are a couple mistakes authors often make when it comes to second editions.

Mistake 1: Calling a book a second edition and providing a new ISBN when only minor changes have been made. Since second editions will appear in distribution listings as a new title, and having multiple distribution listings can be confusing (and therefore not ideal), it’s best to avoid this if at all possible.

Mistake 2: Making significant changes to a book, but not releasing it as a second edition. In this scenario, inventory will mix, so customers who order the book will potentially receive an outdated copy.

What to Keep in Mind with Second Editions

While textbooks are better suited to second editions, in some cases, it makes sense for a novel, too, if, for example, you’re uncomfortable mixing inventory due to the number of changes (e.g., an entirely new ending).

There are often significant costs involved (e.g., new ISBN, new distribution contract), so you should be well-informed about the process before publishing a second edition. If you’re unsure whether your updates should be treated as a second edition, give us a call. We can help! The decision may also come down to how much remaining inventory you have for your first edition.

what is a books edition

Definition of edition

Example sentences.

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'edition.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback .

Word History

Middle French, from Latin edition-, editio publication, edition, from edere to bring forth, publish, from e- + -dere to put or -dere (from dare to give) — more at do , date

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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Cite this Entry

“Edition.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/edition. Accessed 5 Mar. 2023.

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what is a books edition

How to Tell if a Book is a First Edition

what is a books edition

Chances are if you’re an avid book collector, you’ve looked at your shelves and thought, “I wonder how valuable some of my books are!” Or maybe you’re a used bookstore patron and you’ve stumbled upon really pristine, really old copies of popular books that were super cheap, and thought maybe they might be worth more than their sticker price. If you don’t know how to tell if a book is a first edition, we can help! Keep in mind that just because you have a first edition copy of a certain title doesn’t make it inherently valuable—but if you hold onto it, it might become valuable one day!

what is a books edition

1. Copyright Date

The first thing you want to do is check the copyright date! If the copyright date is the same as the year the book was published, then that is a good first sign!

2. Look for the Words “First Edition” on the Copyright Page

This will fluctuate depending on the publishing house, but most publishers will designate that a book is a first edition on the copyright page. However, just because you see those words doesn’t mean you’ve got a valuable book on your hands! That’s because “first edition” means different things to collectors and to publishers. To collectors, it refers to the very first version of the physical book to be printed. For publishers, “first edition” may just mean the first version of the text, without significant revisions. Many publishers will print the hardcover edition of a book and call that a first edition, then print the same text in paperback and call it a first edition as well. Unless the author or publishers makes changes to the text, adds something (like an appendix or author’s note), or revises the text, there is only one edition from format to format.

3. Look for the Print Run Number

Print runs are a way for collectors to identify which “first edition” is truly the earliest version of the book to exist in the world. Print runs are the set number of copies of the book printed at one time. You can have a large print run or a small print run—it’s completely up to the publisher, and generally speaking the size of a print run isn’t shared with the public—but the print run number is easily found on the copyright page. It is a sequence of numbers, usually 1–10, and printed in descending or alternating order. The lowest number found on the page is the print run number.

Speaking generally, first editions will hold the most value if they are first editions, first printings. Depending on who has published the book and what formats it has been published in, you’ll be looking for hardcover books mostly. But don’t assume all hardcovers are first printings! You’ll want to take a look at the copyright page, found at the front of most books, and look for edition number, date, and print run number. Every publisher organizes this information differently, and some make it a little confusing, so you have to prepare to do a little detective work. Let’s take a look at a variety of copyright pages!

Here’s the copyright page for my hardcover copy of Far From the Tree by Robin Benway:

Far From the Tree Copyright page

You might notice that at the very bottom, it proclaims “First Edition.” Sweet! That means this is the first version of the text published. However, we’ll want to go check the copyright date—and this one says 2017, which is the year that the first hardcover edition was released. Also good. Now, to find the print run number, we are going to look below the typography credit. Do you see the long list of descending numbers? On the right hand, you have 10–1. That indicates the print run numbers. The lowest number you can see is the print run number, in this case 1. On the left-hand side, you see the number 17–21. That refers to the year the print run occurred. Again, the lowest number you see is the year it was printed—17.

So based off of this information, we can deduce that my copy of Far From the Tree is a first edition hardcover, first print fun in the publication year 2017. It’s the earliest copy on the market—and because it was a National Book Award winner, I’m holding on to it as it might one day be worth something!

But not all publishers format this information in the same way. Let’s take a look at my hardcover copy of Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr. It’s a hardcover, and in great condition, but it has the National Book Award finalist sticker on it, which makes me think it’s not a first print run—the National Book Award books get stickers after they’ve been out and the award is announced in November. I opened up my copy, and sure enough!

Story of a Girl copyright page

Notice how this copyright page has even less information—it doesn’t even have the title! But you can also see that it says when the first edition was produced: January 2007. However, if you look down to the sequence of numbers, the lowest number you see is a 3—so this is the third printing. That tracks—by the third printing, the book had likely been named a finalist and was being stickered as it hit shelves.

What about signed first editions? They can be valuable, but again, edition and print run matter! Here’s my (signed!) copy of Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith:

Hearts Unbroken Copyright page

Notice how Candlewick Press has a lot more information on this copyright page than the previous two examples! It says First edition 2018; however, when you look below you can see that it is a second printing, printed in 2018. Not bad!

If a book is extremely popular, it will have a lot of printings and you might have to look more closely to find the print run number. See my hardcover copy of Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, which I purchased well after the release date:

Six of Crows copyright page

On this page, you can see the 2015 copyright date, and below where it says “first edition” after the title. Look lower, and you’ll see that the print run numbers aren’t sequential, but they alternate on the left and right sides. This is a design choice, and varies by publisher. Since 13 is the lowest number, that means my copy is from the 13th print run. Below you’ll see a print run number from the international paperback edition—my copy is a hardcover, so my best guess is that this page is identical to the paperback international edition copyright page! This publisher chose not to include the year that it was printed.

How does this vary when you have a paperback edition, or an international edition? Let’s take a look at the American paperback edition of Wildlife by Fiona Wood!

Wildlife copyright page

At the very top, you’ll see that the copyright date is 2013. Even though the book didn’t come out in the U.S. in 2013, that was the year copyright was first filed. Look a little lower and you’ll see that the first U.S. Paperback Edition came in 2016, and the first U.S. Hardcover Edition was published in 2014. Even lower, and the book says “First U.S. Edition.” At the bottom of the page, you can see that it is a first printing. Why does this all mean? It is the first edition, first printing of the paperback in the U.S. Because so many versions of the book came before this copy, it likely won’t be worth a lot of money.

Occasionally, you’ll see print run numbers that range 0–9, like this paperback copy of Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin:

Shirley Jackson A Rather Haunted Life copyright page

Note that on this copyright page, the print run numbers appear as ” 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0″; technically 0 is lower than 1, but what it refers to here is print run number 10! If the book is reprinted that many times (which could take a while) the publisher will likely reformat these print run numbers to go higher—like how the print run numbers look on Six of Crows , above.

Sometimes, when you get a paperback copy, it’s not always obvious that this is a paperback following a hardcover release! See this copyright page for Trouble is a Friend of Mine by Stephanie Tromly.

Trouble is a Friend of Mine copyright page

At the top, it says it’s published by SPEAK (Penguin Group’s YA paperback imprint). Then, it says “First published in the United States of America by Kathy Dawson Books…2015,” followed by “Published by SPEAK, 2016.” The copyright is 2015. You can deduce then that the latest copyright date for the format is the correct one for the book in your hands. Look farther down, and you can see that it’s a first print run of the first paperback edition!

Because of the variations between how publishers convey this information, it can be confusing! The print run system was introduced around the time of WWII, so any books published prior to the 1940s won’t have these hints—you’ll have to do even more research to determine their edition based on publishers and their individual practices (many of which have now gone out of business or been absorbed by bigger houses), or consult a rare book dealer.

How To Tell If a Book is Valuable

First off, the value of a book often boils down to simple capitalism—if people want it, and there aren’t many available, then it will increase in value. The older the book and the harder it is to find, the more valuable it may be. The more someone is willing to pay for a copy, the higher the price for other copies in the same print run.

If a book’s initial print run is very small, and the book turned out to be a huge success later on, first editions may be more valuable. However, if you own a copy of The Little House on the Prairie from the 1950s, but it’s a reprint edition, it doesn’t matter that it’s old and has the original cover art and is in pristine condition—it probably won’t be worth a lot because there are so many copies in the world, and that particular title has been a steady seller over many decades.

The value of a book may also be dependent on other factors, such as whether or not there were any printing errors in any of the print runs. As weird as it may sound, printing errors make for valuable books! And sometimes signed early editions are pretty valuable, even if they aren’t first editions from the first printing! If the book is very, very popular, second editions or reprint editions may be desirable to collectors who don’t have the cash to fork over for first editions but still want a piece of rare book history. It just all depends on the book!

If you are interested in buying or browsing rare books and first editions, head over to the Rare & Collectible Books section on the Abe Books site  or check out Bauman Rare Books . Rebecca Romney is a rare book specialist with a lot of great info on her site . You can also learn more in Carter’s ABC for Book Collectors and  Collected Books: The Guide to Identification and Values.   And to read a fascinating article about collecting books, their values, and women’s place in the trade, read about The Rare Women in the Rare-Book Trade .

what is a books edition

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Book Collecting Guide

How to identify first editions.

For the most part, the first edition of a book is more meaningful to the world of book collectors than it was to the publisher who printed it. That’s because the first printing only represents a portion of the total number of copies of a book that the publisher hopes to sell. That first printing is just an installment on what they hope to be a long term investment in that book. The first printing of a book might contain a few thousand copies. As those copies are shipped out to bookstores and sold, publishers will start a second printing to meet consumer demand. Because most publishers aren’t typically in the business of trading in rare and collectible books, they haven’t necessarily had a strong reason for a unified and consistent way of identifying first editions.

Professional booksellers and dedicated collectors spend time collecting knowledge and resources on what a particular publisher might use to identify the first printing of a book. Each publisher has their own conventions for what they use to tell the first printing of their books, and to further complicate matters, they tend to periodically change what they’ve been doing from time to time. The specifics of a identifying a particular book’s first printing often benefits from the use of reference books, but there are some basic things to look for.

Number Lines

Typically, you will want to start with the copyright page as a first glance into a book’s lineage. That page is usually on the verso of the title page. Publishers will often use one of a few methods for showing where that copy falls in the printing history of that book. A number line might show the printing and sometimes the year of publication. The idea here is an elimination game. In most cases, the first number on that number line indicates what printing that copy was a part of. With each printing, the publisher removes a number from the line of numbers. The lowest number on that line often indicates that book’s printing number.

A variation on that theme is the letter row . A is the first printing, B is the second... Harper and Brothers, one of the many incarnations of the modern day HarperCollins publishing house, used a unique two letter code between 1912-1922 that indicated the month and year of publication. The first letter, A-M indicated the month, January-December. The second letter, M-W, indicated the year, 1912-1922.

In some cases, a number is moved from the left side of the line to the end of the right side as that printing is exhausted. Another variation is printing number and year of publication. One side of the number line is the the printing number, the other side is the year of that printing. Numbers and years are removed as the book continues through its course of sales.

First Edition Stated

Sometimes the word “First Edition” will helpfully be printed on that page, often described as “First edition stated” by booksellers. “First printing” , “First Impression” , and “First Published” are other ways of publishers stating the first edition. That bold declaration can’t always be taken as authoritative, though. If the word First Edition is on the page with a number line, that number line must be complete. This means that the first number in that line of numbers must start with the first number for that publisher. In most cases, this is predictably a ’1’, but in one famous example of the arcane nature of publisher’s methods, Random House between 1970 and 2002 began their number lines with a 2 on their first editions that included a number line. Counter intuitively, a 1 in the number line for that publisher during those years meant a later printing.

Other Things to Look For

The printing history page is the first thing to check, but not the last. In some cases the printing history may show everything that you could hope for, but other parts of the book contradict that story. Reprint houses (EG: Sundial Press, Triangle Books, Grossett and Dunlap) would sometimes purchase the original printing plates from the original publisher. Their reprinted edition would potentially bear all of the same edition identifiers on the copyright page. The test here is to compare that copyright page with the information on the spine of the book. Typically, the reprint house would label the tail of the spine with their company name. If the copyright page tells you that the book is a first edition from William Morrow and Company, but the spine of the book tells you that it was published by Walter J. Black, you probably don’t have a first edition.

Advanced review copies and other pre-production copies of a book may also share all of the printing history details as the first edition, but the cover of these editions almost invariably will state that it is an advanced review copy or galley, or something similar. While these pre-publication printings are technically first editions, they tend to have limited appeal to collectors, so they generally aren’t the first edition that collectors seek.

Much the same as reprint houses, book clubs will reproduce the entire book without any changes, and that reproduction includes the printing history. Book club editions can usually be identified as such by one of a few tell-tale signs. In most any hardcover modern work of fiction, the dust jacket has a price in the front flap. If your copy doesn’t have a dust jacket to compare by, there are other ways to potentially tell it it’s a book club edition, but without the dust jacket, it’s value is probably pretty limited regardless of whether or not it’s a first edition. For many decades book clubs would mark their editions with a blind stamp or colored deboss on the tail of the back board, near the spine. That little mark is a sure sign of a book club edition.

Not all publishers make specific mention of the first edition. In some cases, no indication to the contrary is the way that you can tell the first printing. Book collectors expresses this as “no additional printings.” This simply means that the copyright page of a book is free of any number lines beginning with a 2 or statements to the affect of “Second printing.” Viking Publishing used this method during the 1980’s, for example.

Every once in awhile, you may run across a book that states that it is “Second printing before publication.” That statement informs that the first printing of the book ended up not meeting the initial bookstore orders before the book went on sale to readers. That particular statement is something of a boast from the publisher, telling readers that the first edition sold out before the book was ever even released. The statement “Second printing before publication” really just means that the book is a second printing. The first printing is the first edition.

First Editions and First States

Once you have some level of confidence that your book is a first edition, you may be faced with a question of state. Some books went through some subtle but significant metamorphoses mid-print run. As the first printing/first edition was being printed, some change would occasionally be introduced. Sometimes this was a matter of catching a typo or missing page, or sometimes the change was even more practical, such as switching the color of the cloth on the binding as the supply of one color ran out. Since the goal of the book collector’s interest in the first edition is getting as close to the original source as possible, almost invariably, the first state is the most valuable copy of the first edition. The changes in during the production of the first printing are called “states”, so you may see a book described as “First edition, first state”. That indicates that the copy they are offering is the earliest example of that commercial production. The identifying characteristics of changes in state are called “points of issue”. Those points of issue are the specific misprints or changes. For example, JD Salinger’s Raise High the Roof Beams, Carpenter, and Seymour: an Introduction went through three different states in the first edition. The earliest state lacks the author’s dedication page. That mistake was caught fairly quickly. The printers fixed that error by tipping in the missing page, creating the second state of the first edition. The initial error was fully addressed later in that print run when the missing dedication page was printed and bound into the book, creating the third state of the first edition. All three states are first editions, but the 1st state sells for around $5,000. The second state comes down precipitously to around $300 or so, and fine copies of the third state of that first edition for even less.

The knowledge that booksellers accumulate on the specifics for determining first editions takes years to build, and constant exposure the books themselves, but amazing, comprehensive resources are available to speed things up a bit. McBride publishing has been printing their indispensable A Pocket Guide to the Identification of First Editions and Points of Issue since 1996. These tiny, unassuming looking little guides carry a wealth of information compactly presented. Edward N. Zempel and Linda A Verkler’s First Editions, a Guide to Identification: Statements of Selected North American, British Commonwealth, and Irish Publishers on Their Methods of Designating First Editions offers a fascinating view into the arcane traditions of publishing by quoting each publisher on their methods for designating their first editions.

See all of the above-mentioned reference books and search for First Editions from Biblio booksellers

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What Are Trade Books?

Definition & examples of trade books.

Getty Images / Eugenio Marongiu

How Trade Books Work

Types of trade books, examples of trade books.

what is a books edition

Trade books are those that are published for a general audience and available through most regular book dealers. Trade is considered the largest category in book publishing.

Learn more about what trade books are—and aren't.

Trade books are the ones most people think of when they think of books and publishing. They are what's stocked in most common brick-and-mortar retail bookstores, the best-sellers of online booksellers, and the volumes found in public libraries.

Alternate name: Trade edition

The most well-known publishers of trade books are dubbed " the big five ." They include Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, and Simon and Schuster.

Publishers market trade books to the general public, and their distribution teams usually focus on making sure they get into libraries and both brick-and-mortar and online bookstores.

Some smaller, independent publishers also make use of trade distributors to get their books to the general market. And technically, hybrid publishers and self-publishing services can also produce books for the trade market, but they have challenges in getting the books to the consumer.

Trade books can be paperback or hardcover and encompass many genres of both fiction and nonfiction, including novels, biographies, cookbooks, history books, and children's books.

Sometimes it's easier to understand what a trade book is by looking at what it's not. They do not include rare books or textbooks for niche readerships. At the same time, they don't include books targeted toward impulse buyers, like you might see at airports. They usually fall somewhere between these categories.

Since textbooks are written by or with the input of instructors, used for the classroom, and often purchased in bulk for use by entire school systems, and not the general public, they're not considered trade books.

However, trade books can be used in schools alongside textbooks. Some books from trade publishers are adopted as mandatory reading for certain schoolroom or college subjects. For example, the trade novel "Huckleberry Finn" is often sold to schools to be read in American literature classes. In these cases, the books are sold by trade publishers through sales reps and channels that cater to these specific school and academic sales channels.

Along the same lines, highly specialized books used by practitioners in fields such as accounting, medicine, psychology, and computer science are also not trade books. These come from professional publishers that specialize in those areas and can include in-depth books on very niche areas.

For example, "Architectural Graphic Standards,"   a professional book published by Wiley, "is the written authority for architects, designers, and building contractors. It provides comprehensive guidance on the visual representation of materials, products, systems, and assemblies."

Because of the small, distinct audiences trade books target—and the cost of authoritative content—professional, technical, and reference books cost substantially more than trade books. For example, "Architectural Graphic Standards"   can sell for $250 or more in hardcover.

Some books may have both trade editions and mass-market editions.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are mass-market books. They're usually sold in on racks in non-traditional locations instead of bookstores, including grocery stores, drug stores, newsstands, and airports. They're usually smaller, printed on lower-quality paper, and cost less than trade books. This format is often used for romance novels and thrillers, although those genres can be trade books, as well.

You can go to your local library or bookstore or look at the New York Times Best Sellers " Paperback Trade Fiction " category to find examples of trade books. Some famous examples of trade books include:

You can add to this list the myriad of other children's books, cookbooks, biographies, and other fiction and nonfiction books.

Key Takeaways

what is a books edition

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Identifying Book Club Editions

Some book club editions look like first editions, but they seldom are. This page provides images for some of the tell-tale signs of the book club edition.

bce_01.jpeg

The book on the left is the first trade edition; the one on the right is a book club. A book club edition is quite often of smaller size and printed on lower quality paper than the regular trade edition. There may be other subtle differences in the jacket design. Note the position of the letter “R” in “BEAR” and the position of the yellow flower above (or in the case of the book club, behind) the “A” of “JEAN”.

bce_09.jpeg

Another aspect of what is often a cheaper overall design is the absence of a headband on some book club editions. The picture at left shows the top page edges of a book club edition and the first trade edition of the same title. Note the striped headband on the book on the bottom. The book on the top, missing this element, is the book club edition.

bce_02.jpeg

Most often, a jacket without a price is a book club edition. Exceptions do occur, primarily with books that can be expected to have a long shelf life and thus are subject to price changes during the life of a single printing. Examples of non-book club books that often have no price include the following: high-end art books, university press books, text books, and some small press books.

bce_03.jpeg

Some book club editions are quite blunt about it, with a statement directly on the jacket.

bce_04.jpeg

The reverse of the title page may carry an advertising statement.

bce_05.jpeg

Many book club editions have a small blind stamp on the lower right hand corner of the back cover. The stamps come in a variety of shapes, including circles, squares, dots, stars, and maple leaves. The sample at left shows, in order, a rectangle, a square, and a maple leaf.

bce_06.jpeg

A short string of numbers and capital letters printed vertically near the gutter on one of the back pages is a sign of a book club edition. (Also see Quality Paperback Book Club sample at the bottom of the page.)

bce_07.jpeg

A string of four or five numbers in a box of contrasting color on the back cover may be a book club marker. This rule of thumb is fairly reliable for science fiction books, but be careful when applying it to other types. A few mainstream publishers display “numbers in a box” on regular books. Simon & Schuster currently uses an eight digit code — month, year, FPT (Freight Pass-Through) price. McGraw-Hill and Prentice-Hall used boxed code numbers before the ISBN became standard.

bce_08.jpeg

Like hardcover book clubs, there is also a paperback book club. Quality Paperback Book Club editions have the following characteristics: 1) no price; 2) (often) an alphanumeric code printed in the margin of the last printed page; 3) the statement “Printed in the USA.” on the back cover. These books may otherwise look just like a regular trade paperback, or may be mistaken for an ARC (advance reading copy).

Initial text and images courtesy of Alice Voith of My Wings Books.

Please send comments to us at  [email protected] . Last updated May 17, 2016.

Origin of edition

Other words from edition, words that may be confused with edition, words nearby edition, words related to edition, how to use edition in a sentence.

Of the 4,500 recipes in the updated “Joy,” only 50 were unchanged from the earlier edition .

Michelle Obama is releasing a new edition of her best-selling 2018 memoir Becoming, geared toward young readers.

The arrival will also be joined by a self-charging “Enterprise” edition of the robot and the already announced Spot Arm.

To start out, FOS Essentials will use the FOS daily newsletter amplification to get in front of prospective students and Pepsi will be sponsoring some edition s of that as well.

Great British Bake Off will launch a celebrity edition with James McAvoy and others, and I am HERE for it.

A limited edition export stout known as the Indra Kunindra came to wash it down.

On the back cover of the first paperback edition we get a glimpse of the media buzz.

She reportedly also had a book collection worth more than €20 million, including a first edition of Don Quixote from 1605.

If the new edition of Mary Landrieu shows up in the Senate, the Republicans win either way.

With only 7,500 sets created, this limited edition 41-DVD box set is available on November 11, 2014 for an SRP of $349.98.

In the early sixties a cheap edition appeared, and cheap edition s were rare things then.

A copy of Tendall's testament sold at Oxford for 20 guineas, supposed to be the only copy of that edition unburned by Tonstall.

Transcribers Notes: This ebook has been transcribed from the original print edition , published in 1767.

At all events, they are not to be found in the second edition of Christabel , nor in any subsequent edition .

It is the last edition (Paris, 1840), and purports to be "augmente d'un examen critique et des preuves positives," &c.

British Dictionary definitions for edition

Word Origin for edition

e•di•tion

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Cambridge Dictionary

Meaning of edition in English

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edition | American Dictionary

Edition | business english, examples of edition, collocations with edition.

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American Psychological Association

Book/Ebook References

Use the same formats for both print books and ebooks. For ebooks, the format, platform, or device (e.g., Kindle) is not included in the reference.

This page contains reference examples for books, including the following:

1. Whole authored book

Jackson, L. M. (2019). The psychology of prejudice: From attitudes to social action (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000168-000

Sapolsky, R. M. (2017). Behave: The biology of humans at our best and worst . Penguin Books.

Svendsen, S., & Løber, L. (2020). The big picture/Academic writing: The one-hour guide (3rd digital ed.). Hans Reitzel Forlag. https://thebigpicture-academicwriting.digi.hansreitzel.dk/

2. Whole edited book

Hygum, E., & Pedersen, P. M. (Eds.). (2010). Early childhood education: Values and practices in Denmark . Hans Reitzels Forlag. https://earlychildhoodeducation.digi.hansreitzel.dk/

Kesharwani, P. (Ed.). (2020). Nanotechnology based approaches for tuberculosis treatment . Academic Press.

Torino, G. C., Rivera, D. P., Capodilupo, C. M., Nadal, K. L., & Sue, D. W. (Eds.). (2019). Microaggression theory: Influence and implications . John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119466642

3. Republished book, with editor

Watson, J. B., & Rayner, R. (2013). Conditioned emotional reactions: The case of Little Albert (D. Webb, Ed.). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. http://a.co/06Se6Na (Original work published 1920)

4. Book published with new foreword by another author

Kübler-Ross, E. (with Byock, I.). (2014). On death & dying: What the dying have to teach doctors, nurses, clergy & their own families (50th anniversary ed.). Scribner. (Original work published 1969)

5. Several volumes of a multivolume work

Harris, K. R., Graham, S., & Urdan T. (Eds.). (2012). APA educational psychology handbook (Vols. 1–3). American Psychological Association.

what is a books edition

This guidance has been revised from the 6th edition.

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How to Cite a Book in APA Style | Format & Examples

Published on November 14, 2019 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 4, 2022.

A book citation in APA Style always includes the author’s name, the publication year, the book title, and the publisher. Use the interactive tool to see examples.

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Table of contents, basic book citation format, ebooks and online books, citing a chapter from an edited book, multivolume books, where to find the information for an apa book citation, frequently asked questions about apa style citations.

The in-text citation for a book includes the author’s last name, the year, and (if relevant) a page number.

In the reference list , start with the author’s last name and initials, followed by the year. The book title is written in sentence case (only capitalize the first word and any proper nouns ). Include any other contributors (e.g. editors and translators) and the edition if specified (e.g. “2nd ed.”).

A citation of an ebook (i.e. a book accessed on an e-reader) or a book viewed online (e.g. on Google Books or in PDF form ) includes the DOI where available. If there is no DOI, link to the page where you viewed the book, or where the ebook can be purchased or accessed.

Since ebooks sometimes do not include page numbers, APA recommends using other methods of identifying a specific passage in your in-text citations—for example, a chapter or section title, or a paragraph number.

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When citing a particular chapter from a book containing texts by various authors (e.g. a collection of essays), begin the citation with the author of the chapter and mention the book’s editor(s) later in the reference. A page range identifies the chapter’s location in the book.

Some books come in multiple volumes. You may want to cite the entire book if you’ve used multiple volumes, or just a single volume if that was all you used.

Citing a single volume

When citing from one volume of a multivolume book, the format varies slightly depending on whether each volume has a title or just a number.

If the volume has a specific title, this should be written as part of the title in your reference list entry.

Eliot, T. S. (2015). The poems of T. S. Eliot: Vol. 1. Collected and uncollected poems (C. Ricks & J. McCue, Eds.). Faber & Faber.

If the volume is only numbered, not titled, the volume number is not italicized and appears in parentheses after the title.

Dylan, B. (2005). Chronicles (Vol. 1) . Simon & Schuster.

Citing a multivolume book as a whole

When citing the whole book, mention the volumes in parentheses after the title. Individual volume titles are not included even if they do exist.

Eliot, T. S. (2015). The poems of T. S. Eliot (Vols. 1–2) (C. Ricks & J. McCue, Eds.). Faber & Faber.

All the information you need to cite a book can usually be found on the title and copyright pages.

APA book source info

The APA reference list entry for the book above would look like this:

Butler, C. (2002). Postmodernism: A very short introduction . Oxford University Press.

When a book’s chapters are written by different authors, you should cite the specific chapter you are referring to.

When all the chapters are written by the same author (or group of authors), you should usually cite the entire book, but some styles include exceptions to this.

The abbreviation “ et al. ” (meaning “and others”) is used to shorten APA in-text citations with three or more authors . Here’s how it works:

Only include the first author’s last name, followed by “et al.”, a comma and the year of publication, for example (Taylor et al., 2018).

In the 7th edition of the APA manual, no location information is required for publishers. The 6th edition previously required you to include the city and state where the publisher was located, but this is no longer the case.

If you’re citing from an edition other than the first (e.g. a 2nd edition or revised edition), the edition appears in the reference, abbreviated in parentheses after the book’s title (e.g. 2nd ed. or Rev. ed.).

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20 stunning editions of classic books you'll want to add to your library

Books are the gift that keep on giving.

Not only are the stories within them capable of transporting you to far off lands and through thrilling tales, but they are prized for their beauty as well.

Yes, we know you aren't supposed to judge a book by its cover, but come on, book covers matter. It's the reason why publishers constantly push out new editions of old books. If repackaged properly, an old book can become just as popular as a new one.

Moreover, book covers are actually, literally judged. There are competitions and awards (Opens in a new tab) for book cover design. So don't feel bad if you find yourself trading in an older copy of a classic novel for a newer, sleeker edition. We guarantee that you're not the only one doing it and we're here to help.

We've compiled some of the most stunning editions of classic novels you should think about adding to your bookshelf, because they are simply too beautiful not to buy. Some of them are from very limited runs and may be tough to find, but knowing they exist is the first step.

Welcome to your beautiful future library.

1. Dune (Opens in a new tab) by Frank Herbert (Opens in a new tab)

View this post on Instagram (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab)

This edition of Dune is part of Penguin Random House's Penguin Galaxy collection, a celebration of some of the best sci-fi novels of our time. Other titles in the series include 2001: A Space Odyssey and Stranger in a Strange Land .

Price: $18 (Opens in a new tab)

2. House-themed (Opens in a new tab) Harry Potter (Opens in a new tab) set (Opens in a new tab)

If you are unaware, Juniper Books (Opens in a new tab) specializes in taking some of your favorite books and wrapping them in exquisite book jackets, especially books sets. The above Harry Potter sets are just some examples of their work. As you can see, all Hogwarts Houses are represented so that you can make sure to get the set that fits your needs. But be warned that they are not cheap.

Price: $70 (Opens in a new tab)

3. Pride and Prejudice (Opens in a new tab) by Jane Austen (Opens in a new tab)

The editions of Pride and Prejudice that exist in the world are countless, but this one is the only one that matters. The book is part of the Faux Leather Edition series done by Penguin and includes many other classic novels as well.

Price: $31.46 (Opens in a new tab)

4. The Beautiful and the Damned (Opens in a new tab) by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Opens in a new tab)

If you're going to read a book about the Jazz Age, you might as well make sure the book looks like the Jazz Age. Penguin released a line of hardcover F. Scott Fitzgerald books all draped with beautiful gold foil designs that veritably scream of the Roaring '20s.

Price: $16.68 (Opens in a new tab)

5. The Illiad (Opens in a new tab) and (Opens in a new tab) The Odyssey (Opens in a new tab) by Homer (Opens in a new tab)

Perfectly capturing the tumult that is in both of Homer's classic tales, this Barnes & Noble Collectible Edition of both epic poems together make the stories look as cool as they deserve to be. The only downside of this version is how thick it is. While it looks good on the shelf, it may be impractical to actually read.

Price: $32.57+ (Opens in a new tab)

6. Sense and Sensibility (Opens in a new tab) by Jane Austen (Opens in a new tab)

This small and stately copy of one of Jane Austen's classics was designed by Mr. Boddington Studio's. Unfortunately, this particular copy of the book is no longer being produced so if you must have this edition, you'll need to be willing to pay a hefty price to a reseller.

Price: $285.86+ from Amazon (Opens in a new tab)

7. 1984 (Opens in a new tab) by George Orwell (Opens in a new tab)

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You probably already have a copy of 1984 , either from school or from buying it after the ascendency of our new president. But if you are still missing this Orwell classic in your life, why not get an edition that embodies the full-on creepiness of the story itself?

Price: $56.95

8. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (Opens in a new tab) by James Joyce (Opens in a new tab)

James Joyce isn't everything's favorite author, but a cover this beautiful will have no trouble at all ingratiating itself right onto your shelves. Added bonus: This book is also known as one of Joyce's most approachable novels, so you should actually try reading it instead of just looking at it.

Price: $11.19 (Opens in a new tab)

9. Heart of Darkness (Opens in a new tab) by Joseph Conrad (Opens in a new tab)

Joseph Conrad's classic tale gets revived in this fully illustrated version of Heart of Darkness from Tin House. Now you not only can read about the horror, but you can see it too.

Price: $17.39 (Opens in a new tab)

10. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Opens in a new tab) by Jules Verne (Opens in a new tab)

Just one of many gorgeous Penguin Clothbound Classics, this robust tale of adventure gets a more modern makeover with a cute pattern of elegant jellyfish. These will be hitting bookshelves in July, but can be pre-ordered online now.

Price: $18.82 (Opens in a new tab)

11. The (Opens in a new tab) Lord of the Rings (Opens in a new tab) trilogy (Opens in a new tab)

It feels like every publisher has its own version of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and this makes it difficult for those of us trying to find the absolutely best edition of the series, one that appropriately invokes the fantasy of the story while also looking beautiful on the shelf. Look no further than this Juniper Books set. Together, the spines of the three books come together to make the fabled Doors of Durin. Speak friend, and buy this set right away.

Price: $95 (Opens in a new tab)

12. Sherlock Holmes (Opens in a new tab) by Arthur Conan Doyle (Opens in a new tab)

White's Books released an impeccably designed set of classic novels in 2010 that included this edition of Sherlock Holmes . The books were instantly popular among book lovers and were snatched up relatively quickly. Now that these books have stopped being produced, securing yourself a copy can be quite difficult and the price you'll need to pay varies depending on the third-party seller.

Price: $9.89+ on Amazon (Opens in a new tab)

13. Jane Eyre (Opens in a new tab) by Charlotte Bronte (Opens in a new tab)

Penguin Drop Caps (Opens in a new tab) , a series of 26 books that highlight one great author per letter in the alphabet, may be the most Instagrammable books ever created. The cover of each simply features the first letter of the author's last name, but each uniquely designed to fit the tone and context of the book. With a stately B for Bronte going up in flames, this book is the right way to read Jane Eyre.

Price: $13.70 (Opens in a new tab)

14. American Gods (Opens in a new tab) by Neil Gaiman (Opens in a new tab)

Just in time for the TV adaption on Starz , this collector's edition of Neil Gaiman's popular novel puts all other editions of American Gods to shame. Illustrator David McKean created 12 incredible illustrations to accompany this version of the book, including three double-page spreads.

Price: $120 (Opens in a new tab)

15. The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1,001 Nights (Opens in a new tab) boxed set (Opens in a new tab)

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Here's another stunning boxed set that can only be purchased through third-party sellers, because nice-looking books are apparently in high demand. This clean and sophisticated book set for Arabian Nights is designed by the same person who does Penguin's Clothbound Classics series and the Fitzgerald series above.

Price: $499.75+ on Amazon (Opens in a new tab)

16. Anne of Green Gables (Opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab) by L.M. Montgomery (Opens in a new tab)

Colorful, whimsical, and cute, this edition of Anne of Green Gables would be right at home on both child and adult bookshelves. This book is part of the Puffin in Bloom (Opens in a new tab) series, a collection of four tales for children all designed with a similar theme of bright flowers and flowing typography.

Price: $14.54 (Opens in a new tab)

17. The Raven (Opens in a new tab) by Edgar Allan Poe (Opens in a new tab)

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Embrace the darkness with this edition of Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem, The Raven . Not only does it have a compelling cover, but the book is part of the Penguin Horror (Opens in a new tab) series which was curated by filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. If he approved this edition, it's probably fit to go on your bookshelf.

Price: $17.02 (Opens in a new tab)

18. The Count of Monte Cristo (Opens in a new tab) by Alexandre Dumas (Opens in a new tab)

As another perfect entry in the Penguin's Clothbound Classics series, this cover of The Count of Monte Cristo hints at the intrigue and drama this story is all about.

Price: $25.37 (Opens in a new tab)

19. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Opens in a new tab) and (Opens in a new tab) Through the Looking Glass (Opens in a new tab) by Lewis Carroll (Opens in a new tab)

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You could probably dedicate an entire bookshelf to different editions of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and you still wouldn't have enough room to fit them all. But it's hard not to want to collect them all because so many of them look so good, like this edition from Barnes & Noble's Collectible Edition Series.

Price: $21.48 (Opens in a new tab)

20. Moby Dick (Opens in a new tab) by Herman Melville (Opens in a new tab)

Moby Dick is long. To attempt to read it is basically the literary version of hunting down Captain Ahab's infamous white whale. But the challenge of reading it seems less daunting if you are tackling the feat with this edition of the classic.

Price: $9.68+ on Amazon (Opens in a new tab)

More in Books

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Christine Wang

Christine is a Web Culture Intern at Mashable. She has previously written for FanSided and Saturday Down South. She has a B.A. from the University of California, San Diego and an M.S. from Hunter College. Before she started writing, she worked in education as a teacher and school leader for four years. Her special talents include being able to quote The Office on command, playing non-stop Overwatch for hours, and composing only the wittiest of Tweets (her own opinion).

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What’s not in Ron DeSantis’ new book

The 250-plus page volume, like many political autobiographies, is selective with parts of his political ascent.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ book is for sale on a store shelf.

“The Courage to Be Free” includes several pivotal incidents but smooths over or skips key moments in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ political career and his life. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images

By Gary Fineout

03/01/2023 04:30 AM EST

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ newly-released book weaves together parts of his life story with a how-to political manual — but what he leaves out could easily fill the pages of a sequel.

“The Courage to Be Free,” which was released publicly on Tuesday, includes several pivotal incidents but smooths over or skips key moments in his political career and his life.

DeSantis, for example, doesn’t mention his year-long stint as a teacher after he graduated from Yale University and before he attended Harvard Law School. He also doesn’t bring up the death of his younger sister, Christina, who died in 2015 in London at the age of 30.

The 250-plus page volume, like many political autobiographies, is selective with parts of his political ascent. DeSantis, who is expected to launch a bid for president in the spring, recounts door-to-door campaigning during his first bid for Congress but he doesn’t reference his decision to briefly run for U.S. Senate in 2016.

And while he notes that former President Donald Trump boosted his campaign in December 2017 when he praised him as a little-known congressman, DeSantis doesn’t include Trump’s crucial full endorsement in June 2018 that propelled DeSantis to victory in the Republican primary and ultimately to the governor’s mansion. The two men will likely be rivals for the GOP presidential nomination.

Political autobiographies are often considered routine assignments for ambitious politicians seeking higher office, a way for a White House hopeful to highlight their achievements and successes unchallenged. Even by those standards, DeSantis’ book stands out for the limited amount of personal information he gives readers, especially in the era of oversharing.

The book, however, provides DeSantis with an opportunity to tour multiple cities in Florida and as far away as California to boost book sales — and himself. The New York Times also reports that DeSantis will soon be traveling to New Hampshire, Iowa and Nevada, all early primary states.

DeSantis does recount several vignettes about his life, including his time on the Yale baseball team, where he got to meet and talk to with former President George H.W. Bush, who like DeSantis was captain of the university’s baseball team. He depicts his initial meeting with his wife Casey DeSantis on a golf course and their eventual wedding at Disney World that included a scramble to get his U.S. Navy dress whites prepared ahead of the ceremony. DeSantis also discusses his wife’s 2021 breast cancer diagnosis.

DeSantis, who told Fox News’ Mark Levin last weekend that he wrote the entire book himself, also details in-depth some of his interactions and decisions, including a chapter focused on his battle with Disney over legislation that bans teachers from leading classroom lessons on gender identity or sexual orientation for students in kindergarten through third grade. DeSantis describes his conversation with then-CEO Bob Chapek, where he told the Disney executive that the outrage over the legislation would quickly pass and that he shouldn’t oppose it.

There are several passages with interactions with Trump, including when DeSantis pressed him for extra federal hurricane relief funding despite the objections of White House staff. DeSantis contends that the Trump administration was angered by his decision to publicize the decision.

But the book contains no real hints of the growing divide between the two men. He has no response to Trump’s framing of the president’s crucial endorsement, including during a recent interview with Hugh Hewitt where Trump contended that DeSantis had “begged” him for the endorsement and that he was “dead” and prepared to leave the governor’s race. “He said, ‘If you endorse me, I’ll win’ and there were tears coming down from his eyes,” asserted Trump.

During a Tuesday radio interview with Brian Kilmeade to discuss the book, DeSantis said that Trump’s attacks were part of the “silly season” that comes with campaigns. But he added that when it came to his book, “I wasn’t really into throwing potshots.”

“He can say what he wants about me,” DeSantis said. “I will also give him credit for the things that he did that were positive. I’m appreciative of a lot of things he did. It doesn’t mean I agree with everything he’s doing lately.”

Yet when DeSantis appeared on Fox News on Tuesday night, he struck a less generous tone: “He used to say how great of a governor I was. Then I win a big victory and all of a sudden, you know, he had different opinions. So you can take that for what it’s worth.”

DeSantis in several interviews promoting the book sidestepped questions about whether he wrote it to outline a potential platform for a presidential campaign, stressing that he wants it serve as a framework and “blueprint” for other states to confront what’s going on in Washington, D.C.

One of the longer sections in the book deals with DeSantis handling of the Covid-19 response, where he resisted lockdowns and vaccine mandates and pushed to open schools in the fall of 2020. DeSantis acknowledges he initially went along with some restrictions in the early days of the pandemic, but he delves into his growing skepticism at the advice being offered by federal authorities and how he began to dive into studies and reports about the virus from other countries.

DeSantis, however, does not go into the behind-the-scenes debate that occurred in his own administration over whether to impose a statewide mask mandate, a move that the governor rejected.

In his book, DeSantis lamented that the first book that he wrote in 2011, “Dreams from Our Founding Fathers: First Principles in the Age of Obama,” “did not garner much attention, and it never hit the best seller list.”

During a promotional stop on Tuesday night in the GOP enclave of The Villages, DeSantis remarked that his new book was now topping the Amazon book sales chart.

“Just think every book that’s sold is going to annoy CNN a little bit more and a little bit more,” he quipped.

The Beatles' Attempted Lord Of The Rings Adaptation: What It Was And Why It Never Happened

The Beatles and The Lord of the Rings is a match made in Valinor, so what went wrong?

The Beatles in The Beatles: Get Back

More than 20 years ago, Peter Jackson pulled off the impossible when he gave the world a live-action adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings , a massive fantasy trilogy that would go on to win scores of awards and remain one of the biggest cinematic experiences of all time. Decades before Jackson took audiences on an unexpected journey with a group of hobbits, humans, elves, dwarves, and wizards to destroy the “One Ring,” a group of musicians tried, and failed, to make their movie dreams come true. That band? Oh, just The Beatles. 

Years earlier, before Jackson added the trilogy to his list of accomplishments , the  “Fab Four” – John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr – were dead set on turning Tolkien’s work into a movie of their own. So, what happened? Let’s tell the tale…

In The Late 1960s, The Beatles Were Looking For A Way To Fulfill A Three-Movie Contract

In the years following their unprecedented success on the global scene, The Beatles did what any successful pop culture entity would do in their position: they, or at least their record label and management, did everything they could to expose The Beatles to as many people as possible. This included a three-film deal with United Artists, according to US News , which would eventually lead to 1964’s A Hard Day’s Night , and Help! the following year.

Following the success of the first two movies, The Beatles were looking for a way to fulfill the three-film project. Though the group would eventually sign off on the 1968 animated musical comedy, Yellow Submarine (based on the 1966 track of the same name), the legendary rock outfit initially set their sights on a project that wouldn’t have taken them to the bottom of the ocean but instead to the heart of Mordor.

The Beatles Were Given Copies Of The Lord Of The Rings Book For Their Famous India Trip

In early 1968, just months after announcing they would no longer be a touring band, The Beatles traveled to Rishikesh in northern India to study Transcendental Meditation under the supervision of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a trip that would become consequential in not only the final years of the band, but also the personal lives of its members for years to come.

When speaking with the BBC ahead of the release of his 2021 three-part Disney+ documentary, The Beatles: Get Back , Jackson talked about the group’s attempt to adapt The Lord of the Rings into a movie and what went wrong. During the conversation, Jackson recalled asking McCartney about the whole situation, revealing that Apple film producer Denis O’Dell sent a copy of the books to the band during their retreat with the idea of turning the trilogy into their next movie project. After reading the books, the members reportedly grew excited about the idea of turning the work into a movie, but this was just the beginning of the story.

Paul McCartney Reportedly Wanted To Play Frodo Baggins While John Lennon Wanted To Play Gollum

One would assume that The Beatles would have wanted to play the four Hobbits at the center of The Lord of the Rings , but that would only be half correct. In March 2002, hot off the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring , Jackson told Wellington’s Evening Post newspaper (via CNN ), that while McCartney and Starr reportedly set their sights on playing Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee, respectively, the other two members would have taken much different roles: Lennon would have reportedly played Gollum and Harrison would have taken on the role of Gandalf. 

Nearly 20 years later, when appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert , Jackson, who was promoting The Beatles: Get Back at the time, was asked to come up with his ideal casting, saying he would stick to the group’s original plan:

Paul is obviously Frodo. And Sam is obviously Ringo, isn’t it. … Look, they cast themselves and they did it right. Take Gandalf, George, the mystic magician, it’s perfect – you’d have to age him up a bit. And I guess if you had to have Gollum, and you had the four Beatles, John Lennon is the obvious one. Absolutely. Slam Dunk.

Though the band reportedly had their sights on who each of them would be playing in their Lord of the Rings movie, they would also need to bring on a director capable of turning a trilogy that was in the ballpark of 1,200 words into a single movie. Nevertheless, Lennon had the perfect candidate, or so he thought.

John Lennon Approached Stanley Kubrick To Direct The Adaptation, But He Wasn’t Interested

At some point after The Beatles decided they wanted to make LOTR into a movie, the band reportedly approached Stanley Kubrick to see if he had any interest in directing the sprawling epic. In a 2018 interview with Metro , Kubrick’s former right-hand man, Leon Vitali, was asked about the long-standing rumor and if there was any truth to the matter:

That was true. That was true. They came to Stanley’s office to talk about it. I don’t think it was quite in Stanley Kubrick’s ballpark, that idea. Yes, it was something that they came up with. But it didn’t get very, very far at all. It was just an exchange of information and people were interested in doing it. But Stanley wasn’t. Let’s put it that way.

When asked who it was that was leading the campaign, Vitali responded:

The person behind that was Lennon. John Lennon. He was crazy about that story and he was nuts about 200[: A Space Odyssey]. He said that he’d watch 2001 sometimes once a week. He was so fascinated by it. I can see why he would have connected the dots.

Judging by Vitali’s comments regarding Lennon’s obsession with 2001: A Space Odyssey , this would put the talk sometime in the summer of 1968, since the all-time great sci-fi movie had a U.K. release in May of that year. And who knows, maybe it’s for the best, as Kubrick’s next picture was A Clockwork Orange , one of the late filmmaker’s best movies .

Why J.R.R Tolkien Rejected The Pitch, According To Peter Jackson

Not having a director to helm the project wasn’t The Beatles’ biggest concern. In fact, the whole thing fell apart when the books’ author, J.R.R. Tolkien, who still had the film rights at the time, rejected the pitch. In the 2021 BBC interview mentioned earlier, Jackson explained the situation and what led to it falling apart:

Ultimately, they couldn't get the rights from Tolkien, because he didn't like the idea of a pop group doing his story. So it got nixed by him. They tried to do it. There's no doubt about it. For a moment in time they were seriously contemplating doing that at the beginning of 1968.

The Lord Of The Rings Movies In Order: How To Watch The J.R.R. Tolkien Movies

The Lord of the Rings would eventually be adapted, first as Ralph Bakshi’s nightmarish 1978 animated film, and then, more famously by Jackson himself, as a trilogy starting in 2001. He would also go on to make The Hobbit into another successful trilogy. All of these adaptations, however, were produced after Tolkien passed away in 1973.

Though we will most likely never get to see what The Beatles had in store for the landmark fantasy trilogy, there are more Lord of the Rings movies in the works . While we shouldn’t expect to see the new adventure on the 2023 movie schedule, we do have The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 coming sooner or later. 

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Philip grew up in Louisiana (not New Orleans) before moving to St. Louis after graduating from Louisiana State University-Shreveport. When he's not writing about movies or television, Philip can be found being chased by his three kids, telling his dogs to stop yelling at the mailman, or yelling about professional wrestling to his wife. If the stars properly align, he will talk about For Love Of The Game being the best baseball movie of all time.

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Opinion: ron desantis’ new book offers a powerful warning to the us electorate.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis waves as he speaks at an event on February 20 in Staten Island, New York City.

Editor’s Note: Jay Parini, a poet and novelist, teaches at Middlebury College. His most recent book, the memoir “ Borges and Me ,” is an account of his travels through the Scottish Highlands of Scotland with Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges in 1971. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. Read more opinion articles on CNN.

As is increasingly apparent in many of his public appearances, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is rather like Donald Trump, only without the charm. And that charmless demeanor seeps through his latest book, “The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival,” a grievance-laden tome written in advance of a presumed bid for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election.

The question is, will it help his chances?

That’s unlikely. Only fans or parties actively looking for someone to back in 2024 will read the book, and within a few months unsold copies will lie on the remainder tables, rubbing shoulders with Mike Pompeo’s new memoir, “Never Give an Inch,” or past examples of campaign self-advertisements such as “A Call to Service” by John Kerry, “A Time for Truth” by Ted Cruz or even Trump’s “Crippled America.”

I’ve read a number of these books and they’re rarely good. Nevertheless, DeSantis takes the usual dullness to a fresh level, redefining what cliched writing can sound like. It’s one thing to offer the public a bit of wooden prose, but DeSantis gives us an entire lumber yard.

DeSantis book release

DeSantis has a new book coming out next week. Here's what his first one said

I don’t blame DeSantis entirely for that lousy prose. Like most politicians, he’s a busy man who will have likely farmed out the writing of his book to nameless minions. The governor doubtless talked at length to the “hardworking team of literary professionals” mentioned in his acknowledgments; these ghostwriters will have also had his speeches, social media feeds, appearances and policy papers to draw on.

And we can be sure the governor read the book and approved of its contents before publication. So we must assume the ideas (and “ideals”) in this book, such as they are, belong to him.

That’s not a good thing.

As one might expect, the book runs through DeSantis’ life and times, talking about his love of baseball and hard work; about his parents and their working-class roots in Pennsylvania and Ohio. They were Italian-Americans — a family of immigrants, although DeSantis has shown little interest in helping recently-arrived migrants on their American journey: he famously flew two planeloads, primarily comprised of Venezuelan migrants, from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in 2022, a cruel, calculated political stunt designed to embarrass the Biden administration and liberal elites with their “sanctuary cities.” That he would play politics with the lives of these poor souls doesn’t, I fear, speak well for him – nor that he performed throughout the ensuing media cycle with such glee.

But this hard-heartedness is a core part and parcel of the narrative, which offers a litany of resentfulness. “Before my time at Yale,” DeSantis writes of his undergraduate years studying history at the Ivy League school, “I had never seen a limousine, much less a limousine liberal. Those students who were the most strident in their leftism… came from the most privileged background.” He experienced “unbridled leftism” on campus, and this pushed him far to the right, where he has remained.

Everywhere in the book, one senses his rage against political correctness. He rails, on nearly every page, about “the woke agenda” that he sees permeating almost every level of life in America.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks to guests at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Meeting on November 19, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ron DeSantis' use of government power to implement agenda worries some conservatives

In DeSantis’ mind, a dire phalanx of “woke” fanatics is led “by the likes of Dr. Anthony Fauci,” who is seen as public enemy #1. He devotes a whole chapter of this book to railing against Dr. Fauci and people who used the powers of the federal government to implement “heavy-handed public health ‘interventions’” during the Covid-19 pandemic. These measures did little, in the governor’s opinion, to slow the course of the disease — rather, they “destroyed livelihoods, hurt children, and harmed overall public health.”

(The jury is probably still out on how DeSantis governed with regard to the pandemic . It’s possible he had some good instincts at work.)

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' book

The title of this book must surely be ironic: “The Courage to Be Free.” DeSantis is all about the restriction of freedoms wherever possible. He wants to cancel librarians who allow kids to read certain Black or LGBTQ writers and to fire tenured professors in the state university system who teach “woke” ideas. He wants to restrict the rights of women seeking abortions and those of LGBTQ people seeking to live their lives. He hopes to punish corporations, such as the Walt Disney Company , for criticizing his policies.

Again and again, DeSantis shows little interest in the First Amendment — except when his own free speech is concerned. He seems not to have heard the great words of Thomas Jefferson, who wrote : “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.” Jefferson understood that we each have a right, even a patriotic duty, to speak without permission from the authorities.

Instead, DeSantis rails against the “legacy media” — by which he means The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic and so forth. These are “the praetorian guard of the nation’s failed ruling class, running interference for elites who share their vision and smearing those who dare of oppose it.” (I suspect he would, no doubt, wish to exempt Rupert Murdoch’s media empire from this judgment.)

Four takeaways from DeSantis' new book rehashing his culture clashes as Florida governor

So, if “The Courage to Be Free” is a sign of things to come, DeSantis will likely hang his presidential campaign on efforts to find what he calls the “pressure points” in the system, finding ways to “leverage” his authority to advance his agenda. He’s a lawyer, as he reminds us, educated at the famous Harvard Law School. If the book is any guide, he’s going to use his lawyerly skills to dismantle our heritage and, in his Orwellian manner, he’s going to proclaim that he’s freeing us by doing so.

Overall, I found the hectoring quality of DeSantis oppressive. He’s a chilly man, with a heart of ice and — like so many politicians on both the right and left these days — full of resentments, grudges and the urge to destroy anyone who doesn’t agree with him . The courage he claims for himself he would deny to many others. I shudder to think what he might do if handed the presidential bully pulpit.

The good news, I suppose, is that the lack of charm this book illustrates could well severely limit his chances of success on the national stage.

IMAGES

  1. Behind the German 20th anniversary editions of the Harry Potter books

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  3. Identifying First Edition Books

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  5. I usually buy second hand books in a local shop, but since I never had any Harry Potter books I

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  6. Books: A collection of approx 27 books to include : 'People's Edition of the Entire Work's of W

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COMMENTS

  1. 3 Ways to Tell the Edition of a Book

    Book club editions are books produced specifically for book-of-the-month clubs or similar services. Inside the dust jacket, instead of a price, it will either read ''Book Club Edition'' or have a 5-digit code for identification. [7] Book club editions may leave the area that normally has a barcode blank as well. 3

  2. Edition (book)

    The bibliographical definition of an edition includes all copies of a book printed from substantially the same setting of type, including all minor typographical variants. First edition [ edit] "First edition" redirects here. For other uses, see First edition (disambiguation).

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    You don't need to cite the earlier edition (s) if you are not paraphrasing or quoting from them. So, in most cases, you'll need only one reference list entry: one for the book edition from which you're quoting or paraphrasing. In rare cases, you might include multiple reference list entries—one for each edition that you discuss in your ...

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    Edition Edition is more limited. Use it when talking specifically about material that is published either in print or on digital media, such as radio, television, or the internet. More specifically, edition has three main meanings. 1) It can mean a particular version of a book or other media product, as in these sentences:

  5. How to Tell If a Book Is a First Edition: A Complete Guide

    In publishing, an edition is all copies of a book that are produced and printed at the same time. The term "first edition," however, is used differently by publishers and collectors. In this article, we'll try to understand the meaning behind the term, ways to identify first editions, and why these books are so valuable and sought after.

  6. What Is The Difference Between Books And Editions? The Best ...

    What Are Editions? Bibliographers define a book's edition as copies of a printed book. It is from the same type, including even all the variants with a minor typographical difference. You can only speak of editions of a book when you have first produced and published one and then made a significant change in the book and re-print and publish it.

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    A book can go through several print cycles, sometimes with edits that add in author notes or additional material, so the book in its original form - during its initial release (or first printing) to the public - is what is generally defined as a first edition by collectors and sellers. Should I care what edition my book is?

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    In the simplest terms, a first edition is the first commercially distributed version of a book. For the purposes of modern collectible books, first edition is shorthand for the first printing of the first edition of a work. There isn't any one profile of the collector.

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    A book should only be released as a second edition if readers who already own the first edition would benefit from owning the second. To unpack that, start by imagining your reader. If a reader owns the first edition of your book, will it be worthwhile for them to purchase an updated second edition?

  11. Edition Definition & Meaning

    edition noun edi· tion i-ˈdish-ən 1 : the form in which a book is published an illustrated edition 2 : the whole number of copies printed or published at one time a third edition 3 : one of the several issues of a newspaper for a single day the late edition More from Merriam-Webster on edition Last Updated: 24 Feb 2023 - Updated example sentences

  12. How to Tell if a Book is a First Edition

    How to Tell if a Book is a First Edition 1. Copyright Date The first thing you want to do is check the copyright date! If the copyright date is the same as the year the book was published, then that is a good first sign! 2. Look for the Words "First Edition" on the Copyright Page

  13. How to Cite a Book in Chicago Style

    When edition information (e.g., "Second Edition," "Revised Edition") is stated on the cover and/or title page of the book, it should be included in your citation. Edition information is always abbreviated and followed by a period (e.g., "2nd ed." or "rev. ed.").

  14. How to Identify a First Edition Book

    Edition and printing can be used fairly interchangeably in talking about collectible books, especially in regard to modern fiction. For the most part, the first edition of a book is more meaningful to the world of book collectors than it was to the publisher who printed it.

  15. Trade Books: What Are They?

    Trade books can be paperback or hardcover and encompass many genres of both fiction and nonfiction, including novels, biographies, cookbooks, history books, and children's books. Sometimes it's easier to understand what a trade book is by looking at what it's not. They do not include rare books or textbooks for niche readerships.

  16. Identifying Book Club Editions

    The book on the left is the first trade edition; the one on the right is a book club. A book club edition is quite often of smaller size and printed on lower quality paper than the regular trade edition. There may be other subtle differences in the jacket design.

  17. Edition Definition & Meaning

    Edition definition, one of a series of printings of the same book, newspaper, etc., each issued at a different time and differing from another by alterations, additions, etc. (distinguished from impression). See more.

  18. Edition

    Define edition. edition synonyms, edition pronunciation, edition translation, English dictionary definition of edition. one of a series of printings; a version of anything, printed or not: This is the latest edition of the Word program. ... the third edition of the book; a paperback edition; the evening edition of the newspaper. ...

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    Shop our expansive collection of Barnes & Noble® collectible editions, filled with popular titles with beautifully designed covers that would look perfect on bookshelves, coffee tables, and mantels.You can also shop our collection of beautiful books for your coffee table & more.beautiful books for your coffee table & more.

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    Edition definition: An edition is a particular version of a book, magazine , or newspaper that is printed at... | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples

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    edition definition: 1. a particular form in which a book, magazine, or newspaper is published: 2. a single broadcast…. Learn more.

  22. Book/ebook references

    Book/Ebook References. Use the same formats for both print books and ebooks. For ebooks, the format, platform, or device (e.g., Kindle) is not included in the reference. This page contains reference examples for books, including the following: Whole authored book. Whole edited book. Republished book, with editor.

  23. How to Cite a Book in APA Style

    Basic book citation format. The in-text citation for a book includes the author's last name, the year, and (if relevant) a page number. In the reference list, start with the author's last name and initials, followed by the year.The book title is written in sentence case (only capitalize the first word and any proper nouns).Include any other contributors (e.g. editors and translators) and ...

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    3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. View this post on Instagram. The editions of Pride and Prejudice that exist in the world are countless, but this one is the only one that matters. The book ...

  25. What's not in Ron DeSantis' new book

    By Gary Fineout. 03/01/2023 04:30 AM EST. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' newly-released book weaves together parts of his life story with a how-to political manual — but what ...

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    The Beatles and The Lord of the Rings is a match made in Valinor, so what went wrong? (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)

  28. Opinion: Ron DeSantis' new book offers a powerful warning to the US

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' book "The Courage to Be Free: Florida's Blueprint for America's Revival," is seen for sale on a store shelf on February 28 in Titusville, Florida. The title of this book ...