# Is "Absolute Power" by David Baldacci a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Absolute Power by David Baldacci (Warner Books, 1996) 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. The census claim is correct: the true first is Warner Books, New York, January 1996, and it is Baldacci's debut novel.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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
- Publisher imprint reads Warner Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | David Baldacci |
| Publisher | Warner Books |
| Year | 1996 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first printing is the Warner Books, New York, 1996 hardcover (ISBN 0-446-51996-0), 469 pp., whose copyright page reads 'First Printing… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## 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.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Absolute Power* by David Baldacci a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/absolute-power
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.