| Randy Wayne White is the author of eleven Doc Ford novels and four collections of nonfiction writing. A veteran fishing guide, he lives on an old house built on an Indian mound in Pineland, Florida. His Out There column ran for many years in Outside magazine, and currently he writes a monthly column for Men's Health magazine. Among the many books he's written are The Sharks of Lake Nicaragua, Batfishing in the Rainforest, Last Flight Out, and the Doc Ford mystery series - The Heat Islands, Sanibel Flats, The Man Who Invented Florida, Captiva, North of Havana, The Mangrove Coast, Ten Thousand Islands, Shark River, Twelve Mile Limit, Everglades, and the New York Times-bestselling Tampa Burn. His novel Sanibel Flats was chosen as one of the 100 Best Mysteries of the 20th Century by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. White is the winner of the Conch Republic Prize for Literature and the John D. MacDonald Award for Excellence in Florida Fiction. He also served on the Florida Judicial Nominating Commission for four years, and currently serves on the Florida Bar Association Grievance Committee.
General First Edition Information: "If you are a book collector, it is essential that you know how to differentiate a real first edition from other editions. True first editions represent the very first publication of an author's story in book form. Many book sellers, on Internet auction houses, will often advertise books as first editions when they are actually later editions or book club releases, sometimes done knowingly in hopes of the book selling for more than it is worth, and sometimes because they don't know how to determine a first edition themselves."
Ouestions: "What is the printed price on the dust jacket? Is the number line on the copyright page complete and including the number 1" - "Who published the book? What year was the book published? Is there any damage to the book or any rips, tears, or excessive shelf wear to the dust cover? Is there any writing in the book such as a previous owner's name (PON), dates, or messages?"
Note: Close to 90% of the value of a true first edition book lies in the condition of the dust jacket (or the cover and spine if it is a paperback original [PBO]) and not in the book itself. |
