Hunt for Red October

Tom Clancy's first novel, The Hunt for Red October, was published by Naval Institute Press. This was the first novel ever printed by the press. Prior to this they only published nonfiction.

I wanted to share a little piece of trivia that would let you spot a true first edition of this book. On the back of the dust jacket there are blurbs giving recommendations. The true first edition has six blurbs. Later printings had eight blurbs on the back.

See this picture for a Naval Institute Press edition with the eight blurbs.

On used book seller sites you may come across people selling first editions of this book for $900-$1500. If the book has six blurbs on the back cover you have a true first edition / first printing.