# Is "Zeitgeist" by Bruce Sterling a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Zeitgeist by Bruce Sterling (Bantam Spectra, 2000) is identified by: US Bantam Spectra hardcover first edition (ISBN 0-553-10493-4), with the number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. US Bantam Spectra hardcover (2000) is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US Bantam Spectra hardcover first edition (ISBN 0-553-10493-4), with the number line ending in 1 on the copyright page
- Bound in black cloth over blue boards, stamped in red
- 293 pages, octavo
- First-issue dust jacket designed by Jamie S. Warren Youll, with the publisher's printed price present on the front flap (present on an unclipped first-issue jacket)
- Publisher imprint reads Bantam Spectra
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Bruce Sterling |
| Publisher | Bantam Spectra |
| Year | 2000 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US Bantam Spectra hardcover first edition (ISBN 0-553-10493-4), with the number line ending in 1 on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
US Bantam Spectra hardcover first edition (ISBN 0-553-10493-4), with the number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. Bound in black cloth over blue boards, stamped in red; 293 pages, octavo. First-issue dust jacket designed by Jamie S. Warren Youll, with the publisher's printed price present on the front flap (present on an unclipped first-issue jacket).

## Is this the true first?
US Bantam Spectra hardcover (2000) is the true first. Subtitled 'A Novel of Metamorphosis'.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Issued as a trade hardcover; the identifying first is the Bantam Spectra hardcover with the number line ending in 1. A later mass-market paperback exists but is not the first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Zeitgeist* by Bruce Sterling a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/zeitgeist
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.