The Hunt For Red October

Published in 1984, The Hunt for Red October follows a Soviet submarine captain who defies orders and charts a course for the United States. Unclear of his motives and fearing a nuclear launch, the protagonist Jack Ryan attempts to track the nearly untraceable vessel as it nears the east coast. The basis for a blockbuster hollywood film of the same title, The Hunt for the Red October catapulted Tom Clancy from insurance salesman to one of the most popular writers of his generation.After being rejected by several mainstream publishers, Clancy submitted the book to the Naval Institute Press and was reportedly surprised at it's acceptance. The publisher, which had never published a work of fiction before printed only 5000 copies in the first run, making the first printing rather scarce. 

The first edition has no statement of printing on the copyright page. The dust jacket of the first printing does not have a price on the flap, making it easy to confuse a first edition with a book club edition. However, the book club edition is smaller than the first printing, which should be 9 1/4 inches tall. Additionally, the book club edition has only 12 lines of text on the copyright page while the first printing has 18 lines and both the back of the book and jacket should have the ISBN printed on them. Copies in fine condition might fetch around $300-400, and $800+ if signed.