4 Rick Moody first editions are documented on this shelf, from Garden State (1992) to Purple America (1997) across 2 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that Rick Moody title from later printings and book-club copies — the publisher and year to expect, the number-line or edition-statement conventions, and the tells that show up in online listings.
Identification only, per the house rule: no prices and no appraisals here. Checking a Rick Moody copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.
- Garden State — 1992 · Pushcart PressPushcart Press first edition; winner of the Editors' Book Award. Moody's debut and true first book, far scarcer than his later titles. Issued as a hardcover (black boards stamped in silver) with dust jacket, and simultaneously as a softcover that is scarcer than the hardcover. Confirm the Pushcart Press imprint on the title page and the absence of any later-printing notice. US Pushcart Press edition (Wainscott, New York, 1992) is the true first. A later Little, Brown reissue (1997, 'first thus'), prompted by the success of The Ice Storm, is NOT the first. No genuine book-club issue is the point of confusion here; rather, the Little, Brown / Back Bay reissue is the common copy mistaken for a first. Any Little, Brown or Back Bay imprint, or any post-1992 date, indicates a reprint, not the first.
- The Ice Storm — 1994 · Little, Brown and Company'FIRST EDITION' stated on the copyright page with a complete number line descending to 1; Little, Brown imprint. Navy cloth over yellow boards stamped in gold; dust jacket with the publisher's original flap price intact and unclipped. Moody's second book. US Little, Brown hardcover (Boston, 1994) is the true first; a UK edition followed as a separate first-thus. Book-club editions lack the number line and the flap price, are lighter in weight, and may carry a small blind-stamped dot on the rear board.
- The Ring of Brightest Angels Around Heaven — 1995 · Little, Brown and CompanyStated FIRST EDITION on the copyright page with a complete number line ending in 1; Little, Brown imprint, New York. Subtitle on the title page reads A Novella and Stories. This is Moody's first story collection (the title novella plus stories). The US Little, Brown hardcover of 1995 (ISBN 0316579297) is the true first. No widely seen book-club issue; later trade paperbacks are reprints, not the first edition.
- Purple America — 1997 · Little, Brown and CompanyStated FIRST EDITION on the copyright page with a complete number line ending in 1; Little, Brown imprint, ISBN 0316579254. Quarterbound in black cloth over purple boards with orange lettering on the spine; issued in a dust jacket that should retain its printed price. About 298 pages. The US Little, Brown hardcover of 1997 (ISBN 0316579254) is the true first; the UK Flamingo edition followed. Book-club copies lack the number line and the original jacket price and may show a rear-board blind stamp.
More Literary Fiction (US) & Award Winners shelves: Robert A. Heinlein, Robert Charles Wilson, Robert Coover, Robert E. Howard, Robert Frost, Robert Graves.
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