Is My Absolute Power a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing is the Warner Books, New York, 1996 hardcover (ISBN 0-446-51996-0), 469 pp., whose copyright page reads 'First Printing: January 1996' immediately above a full number line reading 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1; the 1 must be present, since Warner carried the dated statement forward while stepping the number line on later printings
• This matches documented Warner Books practice, in which first printings state 'First Printing: [Month Year]' above a full number line
• Binding is navy over blue boards stamped in gilt
• The jacket is printed in blue and red with white lettering, with an American seal and a knife blade to the front panel and an author photograph to the rear; a first-issue jacket is unclipped with the price present at the front flap

How Warner Books marked a first edition

• Confirm with the number line (printer's key) on the copyright page. Warner used the standard American rule: the LOWEST digit present indicates the printing. A complete line containing a 1 (e.g. "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" or…

Full Warner Books first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
4. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

The census claim is correct: the true first is Warner Books, New York, January 1996, and it is Baldacci's debut novel. The first UK edition is Simon & Schuster Ltd (London), 1996 (ISBN 0-684-81747-0), issued after the Warner and collected as the first British edition only. A '1995' date attached to this title in some catalogue aggregations is a data artefact traceable to a French book-club record and does not indicate any pre-Warner issue. Beware the 1996-97 Warner and Simon & Schuster trade paperbacks, the Thorndike large-print, and the 1997 film tie-ins — all reprints or 'first thus'.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

US book-club issues circulate, as do French club editions (France Loisirs, Le Grand Livre du Mois) which are separate translations, not the first. Club tells: no number line and no 'First Printing' statement on the copyright page, a blind-stamped colophon impressed into the rear board near the spine, no price at the jacket flap, no barcode on the jacket rear, smaller trim and lower-bulk paper.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Absolute Power a first edition?

A first edition of Absolute Power by David Baldacci (Warner Books) is identified by: The first printing is the Warner Books, New York, 1996 hardcover (ISBN 0-446-51996-0), 469 pp., whose copyright page reads 'First Printing: January 1996' immediately above a full number line reading 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1; the 1 must be present, since Warner carried the dated statement forward while stepping the number line on later printings.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). The census claim is correct: the true first is Warner Books, New York, January 1996, and it is Baldacci's debut novel.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

US book-club issues circulate, as do French club editions (France Loisirs, Le Grand Livre du Mois) which are separate translations, not the first. Club tells: no number line and no 'First Printing' statement on the copyright page, a blind-stamped colophon impressed into the rear board near the spine, no price at the jacket flap, no barcode on the jacket rear, smaller trim and lower-bulk paper.

I have a first edition of Absolute Power — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.