# Is "Ake: The Years of Childhood" by Wole Soyinka a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Ake: The Years of Childhood by Wole Soyinka (Rex Collings, 1981) is identified by: First edition, Rex Collings, London, 1981, issued in boards with dust jacket. Rex Collings London 1981 is the true first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, Rex Collings, London, 1981, issued in boards with dust jacket
- Memoir of Soyinka's Yoruba childhood at Ake in western Nigeria before and during the Second World War
- The first American edition (Random House, New York, 1982) follows, bound in black cloth over green paper-covered boards with the spine lettered in gilt, in a pictorial dust jacket carrying its printed price on the flap
- Publisher imprint reads Rex Collings
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Wole Soyinka |
| Publisher | Rex Collings |
| Year | 1981 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, Rex Collings, London, 1981, issued in boards with dust jacket |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, Rex Collings, London, 1981, issued in boards with dust jacket. Memoir of Soyinka's Yoruba childhood at Ake in western Nigeria before and during the Second World War. The first American edition (Random House, New York, 1982) follows, bound in black cloth over green paper-covered boards with the spine lettered in gilt, in a pictorial dust jacket carrying its printed price on the flap.

## Is this the true first?
Rex Collings London 1981 is the true first edition. The first American edition (Random House, ISBN 0394528077) is cataloged by dealers variously as 1981 or 1982; in either case it follows the Rex Collings London first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Vintage/Aventura paperbacks are later reprints.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Ake: The Years of Childhood* by Wole Soyinka a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/ake-the-years-of-childhood
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.