Yaroslav Pelikan's final book "Whose Bible Is It?" has two editions. The first edition came out in 2005 and was sub-titled "A History of the Scriptures Through the Ages." The second edition came out the year he died, and the sub-title changed to "A Short History of the Scriptures."
What I'd like to know is if there are any differences between these two, beyond superficialities such as the sub-titles, publishers, etc. In short, does the text differ at all?
It is not uncommon for book publishers to tweak the cover of a book slightly when the book goes for a second printing, due to having sold all of the original copies. The quick succession (only a year after the original printing) suggests it was simply a reprinting, and not a "new edition." And their marketing gurus probably decided that a new cover and a shortened subtitle would help sales.
It also appears that the second printing was only done in paperback (judging by availability on amazon), whereas the first printing was both in hardback and paperback. This could also just mean that they ran out of the first printing of the paperback copies first.
I have not been able to find any hard evidence to support this guess, but it seems logical, and I find no evidence to the contrary, either. I suppose an email to the publisher, Penguin Press, might set the record straight, if it's that important to anyone.
