The points of issue
Nonfiction collection; boards with gilt-lettered spine; full descending number line ending in 1 on the copyright page; original dust jacket.
Is this the true first?
UK Jonathan Cape (21 September 2017) precedes the US Knopf edition (2018). Full UK title: The Rub of Time: Bellow, Nabokov, Hitchens, Travolta, Trump: Essays and Reportage, 1994–2017.
Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later impressions remove the lower digits of the number line or state the impression.
Frequently asked questions
Is my copy of The Rub of Time: Essays and Reportage 1986–2016 a first edition?
Look for these first-edition points: Nonfiction collection; boards with gilt-lettered spine; full descending number line ending in 1 on the copyright page; original dust jacket.
How do I tell the first printing from a later one?
Check the copyright page for the publisher's first-printing convention and confirm the points above. UK Jonathan Cape (21 September 2017) precedes the US Knopf edition (2018). Full UK title: The Rub of Time: Bellow, Nabokov, Hitchens, Travolta, Trump: Essays and Reportage, 1994–2017.
Is the book-club edition the same as the first?
Later impressions remove the lower digits of the number line or state the impression.
I have a first edition of The Rub of Time: Essays and Reportage 1986–2016 — what should I do?
If you're clearing books, New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup in Albuquerque, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies aren't lost. To sell, see the author's collecting guide. Either way, nothing valuable ends up in a landfill.