Buy the hardcover instead of the paperback.
594538
I already reviewed this book, but I forgot to say something important.  Buy the His Dark Materials books, but make sure you buy them in hardcover!  The cover pictures of the hardcovers, with art by Eric Rohmann, are  gorgeous, and the font used on the inside is beautiful too.  Philip Pullman  himself said in an interview that of all the cover art of his books, the  His Dark Materials hardcover ones by Eric Rohmann are by far his favorites.  Meanwhile, the paperbacks have boring cover pictures with many faults.  For example, on the Book 1 cover the Northern Lights don't look right;  Cittagazze looks more like London; Lyra is wearing pants, has no daemon,  and looks much too big compared to Iorek; and the alethiometer looks  nothing like I had pictured it.  The Subtle Knife paperback cover is  simply hideous, and besides Will doesn't look like Will is described in the  book (Eric Rohmann's depiction of him is perfect IMO), the knife looks  NOTHING like it is described (the swirling colors are not at all subtle),  and the golden monkey is much too ugly and doesn't look like a proper  golden monkey, more like a demon (no pun intended).  Besides, with the  paperback editions you don't get the beautiful fonts and good quality  paper.  I know this is picky and trivial and all that but the His Dark  Materials trilogy is so good that if you're going to buy these books you'll  want to own the best copies you can.  It's worth the extra money, believe  me.  And I still gave it five stars because it's still a good book, it's  just the paperback covers I have a problem with.  IMHO, Zohariel
4533899
I won't be buying this ebook due to the price!!! These publishers better wise up!! This price for a digital edition book is the same as the hardcover??? Get real. A hardcover at least can be shared. Distribution on an ebook costs them pennies as opposed to manufacturing a physical hardcover book in materials alone. They think we're all idiots. Not buying it.
4691987
Book is a paperback and the same as hardcover for a lot less.
3133349
This is a comment on the HARDCOVER version only, with the isbn of 0670028924, from Penguin Global in 2005. (Inside the book it says Penguin/Viking.)

The reason for this is because I picked up the hardcover version when stumbling across it in my local big-box book store (Chapters/Indigo) here in Canada, and then came here on Amazon to see that people's reviews were inconsistent with what my book was.

It should be made clear that the hardcover has only 132 pages as opposed to the 256 and 556 that the 1959 and 2004 softcover versions have. If you do the "Look Inside" preview of the different versions, it's very clear that the hardcover is an entirely different book.

The hardcover has only one passage or quote from a chosen scripture on each page. There are no full scriptures or stories and the whole book can be read in half an hour.
3771949
I bought the hardcover under the advice of others that the layout was a substantial part of the value. I would also agree, but if lugging a physical book keeps you from reading it, get the kindle edition, then buy the hardcover for reference at home.

In short, if you are responsible for a companies' growth, advise others on the topic, are thinking about jumping into your own biz or someone else's THIS IS REQUIRED READING. In fact, it is 1 of 2 books that I would put in the top 5 all time resources in print or the internet on the subject. The other is Running Lean by the same author and should be read first.
3636095
Be careful!  I was searching for the BOOK and there were no hardcover editions available; I followed the link for the paperback available but failed to see that it was not a paperback of the book, but a study guide.  Very deceptive.
4177294
I know this is not Amazon's fault, but after the first 4 books available in the hardcover format, now the fifth book is being published in paperback only in the USA? Sweet Baby Jebus in a Pita Pocket, most book people -and the ones who've been following this series since it began- have purchased the hardcover and want to keep collecting them in the same format. It happens with every series, to be honest. This is a stupid move.

Like a lot of media companies, they're dumbing down the book business. Sure Hunger Games sells more, but does not mean they're actually good. Still, imagine if the publisher decided that last book in the Hunger Games would only be available in paperback. People would protest.

Now I'm paying more to get it from Britain.
3860954
I bought the hardcover version of this book and loved what I read (about 200 pages) but found it to be a wrist-strainer for me, who does most of his pretty expansive reading on trains and planes.  It is the reason I am now stalking the purchase of a Kindle--I own the book, and am even willing to pay a little extra for the digital version.  But come on Amazon, $31 on top of the $45 I've already paid?  It was enough to make me consider the option of free downloading, though I'd not actually do it.  But if anyone reads these, I think it might be wise for you to consider a DISCOUNTED download of the Kindle when you do buy the hardcover rather than just making this Kindle version so expensive.  It's not like it costs you appreciably more to digitize a long book as opposed to a short one, and I'm certain Mr. Vollmann is not getting a good deal more money for my EXTRA purchase.

So have a heart?
3754552
I'm interested in reading this, but I'm not going to buy it until they fix the pricing on the eBook version.  There's just no way the eBook should cost more than the mass market paperback version.

I might pick up a used paperback if i run across a cheap one but otherwise I am boycotting this until the publisher pulls their head out of their rear end.
1145480
When I found out there was a hardcover version of JtHM I bought it immediately as an avid fan; however, I was left disappointed.
The hardcover seems to have smaller page dimensions than the paperback and as a result certain comic strips (notably the one involving a spork) are printed slightly smaller and details are harder to make out.

The paperback version of the JtHM comic is superior to the hardcover.
2137623
Why is this book two dollars MORE expensive than the paperback version?  That is absurd.  I was coming here to buy this book, but am now spending my dollars with a publisher who doesn't insult my intelligence.
2033239
This is a totally off the wall comment rather than a review of the book, but I have been anticipating this book in paperback for quite a while and when I saw the idiotic cover photo for the paperback version it looks too much like it was turned into a romance novel rather than a thriller and completely turned me off of reading the book. Funny how such a small thing as changing the cover makes such a big difference, even if not a word was changed in the book. Check 'em both out.
1522746
I love Rest You Merry and I was thrilled to see a hardcover edition advertised, but this edition is awful. It is actually a paperback, not a hardcover edition. Probably a reprint of a hardcover without resetting the text for a paperback sized book. The font size is tiny, like foot notes and hard to read. While a normal paperback has 32-35 rows of text, this has 44 in the same size book! I hope there will be a new edition with a better layout at some point in the future. This is a gloriously funny book worth re-reading for the pleasure of escaping to Balaclava with its eccentric inhabitants and the reindeer on Peter Shandy's roof! Five points for the book, one point for the edition.
2054891
Paperback has terrible print quality, replaced with a hardcover version, which is much more decent. Not sure how to rate the product when one version is impossible to read, and the other is nice - especially since this is the product review, and not just opinion about the author's work. Amazon should allow different reviews for different versions of the product. So, giving 3 stars - really hope people recognize this is not about the content.
2222100
This was a mistake purchase. I was wanting to get it as hardcover, but I hit the wrong button. I have never done this before so I didn't know about the policy.
1615315
Readers beaware!  This paperback version of Angelo is VERY different from the hardcover version of Angelo.  The illustration sometimes gets cut off i.e. the hat of Angelo is cut off on the cover, the back art is so much smaller as compared to the hardcover version.  The layout of the illustration has changed as well, so it reads very oddly as well.  The printing quality has suffered so some of the colors didn't turn out as nicely either.

Though the story stays the same, there is NO comparison between the paperback and hardcover, if you appreciate what David Macaulay did with the illustration.

This goes to the return.
3546087
For some reason, Amazon does not cross-link the reviews for the hardcover and paperback editions of this book. So rather than writing a superfluous 28th review, I simply suggest that you go read the reviews of the paperback edition. As far as I know, it's the exact same book. (There's also a 50-year edition, which contains additional material.)