Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 20 Oct 2026.
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Published in 1981 by Granada in Britain and St. Martin's Press in New York, with an introduction by Desmond Morris; the Granada issue is the first UK edition. It is a large illustrated quarto of 124 pages, ISBN 0 246 11577 7. Granada also issued a softcover (ISBN 0 586 05750 1, dated 1982). Some databases describe 0 246 11577 7 as a paperback, so confirm hard covers and a jacket. A BCA book club edition dated 1981 also exists and is not the first edition, nor is the St. Martin's American issue (ISBN 0 312 01163 6). Breakdown Press reissued the book from 2018.
We have not yet confirmed the issue points that tell this first impression from later ones. Until we do, compare your copy's title page and copyright page with the publisher, place and year above: any later printing or edition statement means it is not this one.
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Granada, London, in 1981, in hardback.
Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 20 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.
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