How many different editions of Ishmael exist? How do I identify which edition I have? Is there a record of the revisions made for each edition available?

In English there have been four editions of Ishmael. The first edition (1992) was a hardcover with the cover being predominantly white with the name “Ishmael” in teal. The second edition (1993) was a mass-market paperback. The third edition (1995) was the trade paperback edition, the only edition that is still in print. A fourth edition was labeled a “Fifth Anniversary Edition” (1997), hardcover with a cover much the same as the trade paperback.

I’m afraid I saw no reason to keep a careful record of changes made between editions; although each was judged to be worth making, none represented any revision of my basic message.

NOTE: In 2017 the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Edition was published, with a new cover design plus a Foreword and Afterword by Daniel. This edition supersedes all others.  In the Foreword Daniel describes how Ishmael came to be and adds a section of new dialogue between Ishmael and his first student concerning the Sixth Extinction. (Ideally this would have been inserted in the appropriate place in the text itself, but publishing constraints precluded this.) —RMQ

ID: 748
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updated: 17 Oct 2007