Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 20 Oct 2026.
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The British first is The Bodley Head hardback, London, published 1 September 2016, subtitled The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life, ISBN 978 1 84792 328 8, 354 pages plus 8 unnumbered pages of colour plates, 24 cm. The Wellcome Collection record also carries ISBN 978 1 84792 418 6, which Open Library records as a Vintage paperback of the same date. The Bodley Head paperback of September 2017 (ISBN 978 1 78470 017 1) is a later edition. Some sellers give the hardback's publisher as Vintage, the parent division, so go by the ISBN and The Bodley Head imprint on the title page.
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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The Bodley Head, London, in 2016, 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.
For most books published since the 1920s, the original dust jacket carries a large share of the value, often most …
Read the guide →7 min readTo identify a first edition, check that your copy is the first printing of the first edition. Read the copyright …
Read the guide →6 min readBook condition grading uses a six-step trade scale: Fine, Near Fine, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor. Collectors grade the …
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