# Is "The River of Consciousness" by Oliver Sacks a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The River of Consciousness by Oliver Sacks (Alfred A. Knopf, 2017) is identified by: Knopf states 'First Edition' on the copyright page with a number line descending to 1. This title was published in the UK by Picador on 19 October 2017, a few days ahead of the US Knopf edition on 24 October 2017, so the Picador printing is the precedence first; the Knopf issue is the US first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Knopf states 'First Edition' on the copyright page with a number line descending to 1
- Priced dust jacket (the printed price should be present on the flap, unclipped)
- The jacket carries a photograph of the young Sacks astride a BMW motorcycle
- Posthumous essay collection, first published October 2017
- Publisher imprint reads Alfred A. Knopf
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Oliver Sacks |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
| Year | 2017 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Knopf states 'First Edition' on the copyright page with a number line descending to 1 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Knopf states 'First Edition' on the copyright page with a number line descending to 1. Priced dust jacket (the printed price should be present on the flap, unclipped). The jacket carries a photograph of the young Sacks astride a BMW motorcycle. Posthumous essay collection, first published October 2017.

## Is this the true first?
This title was published in the UK by Picador on 19 October 2017, a few days ahead of the US Knopf edition on 24 October 2017, so the Picador printing is the precedence first; the Knopf issue is the US first. Posthumous; first appearance of these essays as a collected volume.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The River of Consciousness* by Oliver Sacks a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-river-of-consciousness
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.