Two books, same title, same author diff contents

LadyKate · 11-05-2016, 04:36 PM

Has anyone ran across this before?

I was asked by a friend if I had read Last Chance to See (by Mark Carwardine). I had read the Ballantine Books version and said yes I had. (note: I edited to remove by Douglas Adams as I had mentally though that when she asked)

She proceeded to ask me what I thought of the part about them talking about eating manatee. I had to pull up my ebook and search because I didn't remember reading about any manatee.

No manatee in my book. We did that about several things, including the fact that the chapters were all different names and mine read way different than hers.

It turns out that her copy of Last Chance to See (the HarperCollins ebook version) with "forward" by Stephen Fry is actually Mark Carwardine and Stephen Fry following in the footsteps of Douglas Adams.

How very frustrating that both books covers have the same title just the author names different (Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine on the Ballantine version which was originally published in 1990) and Mark Carwardine and Stephen Fry on the HarperCollins version.

That Stephen Fry had written the forward was kind of not an indicator that these were two entirely different books. I have frequently seen reprints of books with a new forward by someone else. Oh well, I just had to borrow hers to read and it was quite enjoyable.

I kind of felt that it was not "sporting" of Mark Carwardine to put the same title on the "tribute journey" book as on the original. What do you think??

davidfor · 11-05-2016, 07:46 PM

From my search, the title of the book by Mark Carwardine and Stephen Fry is "Last Chance to See: In the Footsteps of Douglas Adams". From the description, that's a reasonable title for the book as it is a direct followup of the original. But, it looks like the on-line stores have decided to drop the second part of the title. They are probably treating it as a subtitle rather than an integral part of the full title.

frahse · 11-05-2016, 08:24 PM

I would have had a title for this thread like:

"Same title, different books, same idiot authors."

Cosimo · 11-05-2016, 09:11 PM

I did buy a book in a series that contained the previous book.

It had the title and cover for book #2 but the content was that of book #1.

HarryT · 11-06-2016, 04:07 AM

Do the two books have different publishers? It's very common for a publisher to decide on, or to change, a book's title.

BTW, Kate, the introductory text at the start of a book is called the "foreword". It's a completely different word to "forward" although it sounds the same.

gmw · 11-07-2016, 06:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LadyKate

Has anyone ran across this before?

I was asked by a friend if I had read Last Chance to See (by Mark Carwardine). I had read the Ballantine Books version and said yes I had. (note: I edited to remove by Douglas Adams as I had mentally though that when she asked) [...]

I have a hardback copy of "Last Chance To See..." (published by William Heinemann Ltd in 1990). The cover says: Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine. Inside the copyright notice says: Serious Productions Limited and Mark Carwardine 1990. (Serious Productions Limited appears to be a Douglas Adams entity, it's also used on my copy of "Mostly Harmless".) The dust jacket acknowledges both Adams and Carwardine as photographers.

... All that aside, I do think it is rather cheating to publish a subsequent book and deliberately make it look like it's the earlier one. But publishers tend not to be shy about that sort of thing. Come to that, neither is Stephen Fry.

crich70 · 11-07-2016, 08:34 AM

Another related problem is sometimes the same book by the same author will have a different title depending on the country where it's sold. Agatha Christie's books are like that. i.e. "Murder on the Calais Coach" is also "Murder on the Orient Express." The one title is the UK title for the book and the other is the U.S. title. So it is possible to pick up a book by an author and think you don't have that one yet, when in fact it's just the difference in the publisher that has the title changing.

theducks · 11-07-2016, 11:26 AM

Toss in:
Baen is issuing 2nd editions (new edits) of some of their older titles

AnemicOak · 11-07-2016, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

Toss in:
Baen is issuing 2nd editions (new edits) of some of their older titles

Are they really new edits though? For example the 2nd edition of David Weber's The Honor of the Queen is the same other than a character list at the end with short descriptions of characters. Nothing different in the story itself. I understand the 2nd editions have something to do with when they started selling books on Amazon and the free library. It's also when they raised pricing and stopped making the bundles available after a certain date.

theducks · 11-07-2016, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Are they really new edits though? For example the 2nd edition of David Weber's The Honor of the Queen is the same other than a character list at the end with short descriptions of characters. Nothing different in the story itself. I understand the 2nd editions have something to do with when they started selling books on Amazon and the free library. It's also when they raised pricing and stopped making the bundles available after a certain date.

You think I am going to buy those just to find out?

I have the dead tree of many of those on the 2nd edition list.

I expect the edits might have:
1) fixed typos and other errors
2) adjusted 'dated' content (CRT, flat screen, Tape....)

AnemicOak · 11-07-2016, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

You think I am going to buy those just to find out?

Since you were claiming they were edited I hoped you had some detail on what supposedly was changed in some of the other books (since the Weber one I mentioned hasn't changed).

theducks · 11-08-2016, 05:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Since you were claiming they were edited I hoped you had some detail on what supposedly was changed in some of the other books (since the Weber one I mentioned hasn't changed).

I only see what is on the Baen Catalog page.

They only edited the Cover price and call it a 2nd edition? Other publishers just raise the price

between printings.

fjtorres · 11-08-2016, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Since you were claiming they were edited I hoped you had some detail on what supposedly was changed in some of the other books (since the Weber one I mentioned hasn't changed).

Weber books aren't edited.
At most they get proofed. And not always.

Tarana · 11-08-2016, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

Toss in:
Baen is issuing 2nd editions (new edits) of some of their older titles

Yes, I bought the 2nd edition of 1632. It is clearly marked that it is a 2nd edition.

ZodWallop · 11-08-2016, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tarana

Yes, I bought the 2nd edition of 1632. It is clearly marked that it is a 2nd edition.

Maybe they sold out all of their digital copies of the first edition

11-06-2016, 04:07 AM	#5
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Do the two books have different publishers? It's very common for a publisher to decide on, or to change, a book's title. BTW, Kate, the introductory text at the start of a book is called the "foreword". It's a completely different word to "forward" although it sounds the same. Last edited by HarryT; 11-06-2016 at 07:40 AM.

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11-05-2016, 04:36 PM	#1
LadyKate Fanatic Posts: 515 Karma: 1470724 Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Quebec CA Device: android 4 (samsung tablet and asus tablet)	Two books, same title, same author diff contents Has anyone ran across this before? I was asked by a friend if I had read Last Chance to See (by Mark Carwardine). I had read the Ballantine Books version and said yes I had. (note: I edited to remove by Douglas Adams as I had mentally though that when she asked) She proceeded to ask me what I thought of the part about them talking about eating manatee. I had to pull up my ebook and search because I didn't remember reading about any manatee. No manatee in my book. We did that about several things, including the fact that the chapters were all different names and mine read way different than hers. It turns out that her copy of Last Chance to See (the HarperCollins ebook version) with "forward" by Stephen Fry is actually Mark Carwardine and Stephen Fry following in the footsteps of Douglas Adams. How very frustrating that both books covers have the same title just the author names different (Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine on the Ballantine version which was originally published in 1990) and Mark Carwardine and Stephen Fry on the HarperCollins version. That Stephen Fry had written the forward was kind of not an indicator that these were two entirely different books. I have frequently seen reprints of books with a new forward by someone else. Oh well, I just had to borrow hers to read and it was quite enjoyable. I kind of felt that it was not "sporting" of Mark Carwardine to put the same title on the "tribute journey" book as on the original. What do you think??

11-05-2016, 07:46 PM	#2
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,905 Karma: 47303824 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	From my search, the title of the book by Mark Carwardine and Stephen Fry is "Last Chance to See: In the Footsteps of Douglas Adams". From the description, that's a reasonable title for the book as it is a direct followup of the original. But, it looks like the on-line stores have decided to drop the second part of the title. They are probably treating it as a subtitle rather than an integral part of the full title.

11-05-2016, 08:24 PM	#3
frahse occasional author Posts: 2,315 Karma: 2064403292 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Wandering God's glorious hills, valleys and plains. Device: A Franklin BI (before Internet) was the first. I still have it.	I would have had a title for this thread like: *"Same title, different books, same idiot authors."*

11-05-2016, 09:11 PM	#4
Cosimo Groupie Posts: 160 Karma: 3337854 Join Date: Jun 2014 Device: Kobo Glo HD	I did buy a book in a series that contained the previous book. It had the title and cover for book #2 but the content was that of book #1.

11-07-2016, 08:34 AM	#7
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,310 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	Another related problem is sometimes the same book by the same author will have a different title depending on the country where it's sold. Agatha Christie's books are like that. i.e. "Murder on the Calais Coach" is also "Murder on the Orient Express." The one title is the UK title for the book and the other is the U.S. title. So it is possible to pick up a book by an author and think you don't have that one yet, when in fact it's just the difference in the publisher that has the title changing.

11-07-2016, 11:26 AM	#8
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 31,057 Karma: 60358908 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	Toss in: Baen is issuing 2nd editions (new edits) of some of their older titles

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