# Is "The Association" by Bentley Little a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Association by Bentley Little (Signet, 2001) is identified by: Signet mass-market paperback original (ISBN 0451204123), September 2001. US paperback original; Signet PBO is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Signet mass-market paperback original (ISBN 0451204123), September 2001
- First printing carries the Signet/NAL 'First Printing' statement on the copyright page with a descending number line ending in 1
- Publisher imprint reads Signet
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Bentley Little |
| Publisher | Signet |
| Year | 2001 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Signet mass-market paperback original (ISBN 0451204123), September 2001 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Signet mass-market paperback original (ISBN 0451204123), September 2001. First printing carries the Signet/NAL 'First Printing' statement on the copyright page with a descending number line ending in 1.

## Is this the true first?
US paperback original; Signet PBO is the true first. A book-club hardcover (ISBN 0739420909) also exists and is not the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club hardcover exists; the mass-market PBO is the collectible first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Association* by Bentley Little a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-association
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.