Books

New York: Bantam Books, 1988. First American Edition, First Printing. Hardcover. Near fine/near fine. First American edition, first printing of A Brief History of Time by Stephen W. Hawking.. Octavo, x, 198pp. Black hardcover, black cloth spine, title in silver on spine. A first printing, with the full number line on copyright page. Light sunning along top edge. Solid text block, free of any marks or notations. The first state of the American edition, lacking the table of contents, lacking the dedication on the copyright page, light blue endpapers and the star field on Page 73 is misidentified as a "proton and antiproton" collision. In the publisher's first state dust jacket, $18.95 on front flap, faint shelf wear to both panels, a near fine example. This first printing was removed from circulation due to a number of publication errors, and the remainders were destroyed. A handful of first state copies survived the initial purge.

In 'A Brief History of Time', Stephen Hawking attempts to explain a range of subjects in cosmology, including the Big Bang, black holes, and light cones to the non-specialized reader. His goal is to provide an overview of the history, laws, and major theories of the cosmos in a way that is accessible to the general public, without complex mathematical jargon.

Look for the full number line on the copyright page indicating '1' as the lowest number and 'Bantam Books' as the publisher for true first edition.