Is My Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance a First Edition?

The points of issue

• New York: Times Books (a Random House imprint), 1995; published 18 July 1995
• The first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page AND carries a complete Random House-style number line reading 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
• Random House omitted the "1" from its first-printing lines, so the correct first-printing signature is the "First Edition" statement together with a line whose lowest digit is 2; a line whose lowest digit is 3 or higher is a later printing
• Octavo, 403 pp., ISBN 0-8129-2343-X, issued in a priced jacket (price present at the front flap)
• A clipped flap removes one confirming point but does not by itself demote a copy whose copyright page is correct
• The first printing was small — trade sources cite figures between roughly 7,500 and 8,000 copies, and the two numbers are not reconciled across the sources consulted, so neither should be stated as fact

How Times Books marked a first edition

• Pre-1945: first editions identified chiefly by the ABSENCE of any later-printing statement on the copyright page.
• 1945–c.1985: usually placed a 'First Edition' statement on the copyright page of US-produced books (no statement on books produced outside the US).

Full Times 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 US 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?

US precedence, and the census claim is correct: the 1995 Times Books hardcover is the true first, with no competing first edition from another country and no original-language issue behind it. The book went out of print soon after publication and was reissued in 2004 by Crown / Three Rivers Press following Obama's Democratic National Convention keynote; that 2004 reissue is the copy most commonly offered as a "first edition" and is not one.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The 2004 Crown hardcover and Three Rivers Press paperback are "first thus" reissues of the 1995 text, not the first edition, regardless of what their own copyright pages state about their edition. A 1995 Times Books Advance Reader's Edition exists in printed wrappers under a distinct ISBN (0-8129-2572-X); it precedes the trade issue chronologically but is a proof, not the first edition, and it is not the book described above. No dedicated book-club issue of the 1995 Times Books printing is documented in the sources consulted.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance a first edition?

A first edition of Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama (Times Books) is identified by: New York: Times Books (a Random House imprint), 1995; published 18 July 1995.

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). US precedence, and the census claim is correct: the 1995 Times Books hardcover is the true first, with no competing first edition from another country and no original-language issue behind it.

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

The 2004 Crown hardcover and Three Rivers Press paperback are "first thus" reissues of the 1995 text, not the first edition, regardless of what their own copyright pages state about their edition. A 1995 Times Books Advance Reader's Edition exists in printed wrappers under a distinct ISBN (0-8129-2572-X); it precedes the trade issue chronologically but is a proof, not the first edition, and it is not the book described above. No dedicated book-club issue of the 1995 Times Books printing is docum

I have a first edition of Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance — 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.