# Is "The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True" by Richard Dawkins a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True by Richard Dawkins (Bantam Press, 2011) is identified by: UK first edition, first impression published by Bantam Press (an imprint of Transworld Publishers) in 2011, released 15 September 2011 in the UK ahead of the US edition of 4 October 2011; illustrated throughout in color by Dave McKean. UK Bantam Press edition is the true first for this illustrated title, preceding the US Free Press edition by about three weeks.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK first edition, first impression published by Bantam Press (an imprint of Transworld Publishers) in 2011, released 15 September 2011 in the UK ahead of the US edition of 4 October 2011; illustrated throughout in color by Dave McKean
- The first printing is identified by a complete number line running 10 down to 1 on the copyright page
- Bound in cream papered boards with gilt lettering to the spine, with red endpapers, and issued in a pictorial full-color illustrated dust jacket; a first-issue jacket carries the printed price
- Publisher imprint reads Bantam Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Richard Dawkins |
| Publisher | Bantam Press |
| Year | 2011 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK first edition, first impression published by Bantam Press (an imprint of Transworld Publishers) in 2011, released 15 September 2011 in… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
UK first edition, first impression published by Bantam Press (an imprint of Transworld Publishers) in 2011, released 15 September 2011 in the UK ahead of the US edition of 4 October 2011; illustrated throughout in color by Dave McKean. The first printing is identified by a complete number line running 10 down to 1 on the copyright page. Bound in cream papered boards with gilt lettering to the spine, with red endpapers, and issued in a pictorial full-color illustrated dust jacket; a first-issue jacket carries the printed price.

## Is this the true first?
UK Bantam Press edition is the true first for this illustrated title, preceding the US Free Press edition by about three weeks.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No prominent book-club edition confusion for the true first; confirm the full 10-to-1 number line to distinguish the first impression from later printings, whose lines no longer end in 1.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True* by Richard Dawkins a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-magic-of-reality-how-we-know-whats-really-true
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.