# Is "Billion-Dollar Brain" by Len Deighton a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Billion-Dollar Brain by Len Deighton (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1966) is identified by: CENSUS CLAIM CORRECTED: the US edition, not the UK, is the true first. Census claim REFUTED — precedence runs the other way.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- CENSUS CLAIM CORRECTED: the US edition, not the UK, is the true first
- The Putnam first is a 320pp 8vo in red cloth with gilt lettering to the spine and plain endpapers, published 11 January 1966 in a stated run of 20,000 copies; the Raymond Hawkey jacket exists in a blue variant
- Putnam's pre-1985 practice was to make no first-printing statement while noting subsequent impressions, so a first printing is identified by the absence of any later-printing line on the copyright page; at least one specialist dealer reports a stated first impression on this title, so the copyright page should be checked directly rather than assumed
- The Cape edition (31 March 1966, 312pp, 14,000 copies) is a separate setting in blue cloth-covered boards with gilt spine lettering and a white computer punch-tape design blocked to the upper board, endpapers illustrated with computer printouts, and states "First published 1966"; its Hawkey metallic/silver foil jacket is notoriously fragile and is almost always found rubbed or scratched
- Publisher imprint reads G.P. Putnam's Sons
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Len Deighton |
| Publisher | G.P. Putnam's Sons |
| Year | 1966 |
| True first | British edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | CENSUS CLAIM CORRECTED: the US edition, not the UK, is the true first |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
CENSUS CLAIM CORRECTED: the US edition, not the UK, is the true first. The Putnam first is a 320pp 8vo in red cloth with gilt lettering to the spine and plain endpapers, published 11 January 1966 in a stated run of 20,000 copies; the Raymond Hawkey jacket exists in a blue variant. Putnam's pre-1985 practice was to make no first-printing statement while noting subsequent impressions, so a first printing is identified by the absence of any later-printing line on the copyright page; at least one specialist dealer reports a stated first impression on this title, so the copyright page should be checked directly rather than assumed. The Cape edition (31 March 1966, 312pp, 14,000 copies) is a separate setting in blue cloth-covered boards with gilt spine lettering and a white computer punch-tape design blocked to the upper board, endpapers illustrated with computer printouts, and states "First published 1966"; its Hawkey metallic/silver foil jacket is notoriously fragile and is almost always found rubbed or scratched.

## Is this the true first?
Census claim REFUTED — precedence runs the other way. G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 11 January 1966 PRECEDES Jonathan Cape, London, 31 March 1966 by roughly eleven weeks. This is the exception among the early Deighton titles, where the Cape edition is normally the first. Both editions are collected: the Putnam is the true first (and the first appearance anywhere), while the Cape is the first British edition and is the form most UK collectors pursue. Any listing calling the Cape 1966 the 'true first' is in error; note also that the US title is usually rendered 'Billion Dollar Brain' without the hyphen.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A US book-club issue exists and is common: it is blind-stamped or dot-marked to the rear board, lacks the price at the jacket flap, is slightly smaller than the trade issue, and is bulked on cheaper paper. Because the Cape edition post-dates the Putnam, a Cape copy is not a book-club tell but is simply a later (British first) edition. Later Cape impressions add an impression line under the "First published 1966" statement.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Billion-Dollar Brain* by Len Deighton a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/billion-dollar-brain
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.