Chad Ward's "An Edge in the Kitchen"

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I asked politely in the original Edge in the Kitchen thread but no one deigned to help me.  My copy of Chad's book has non-standard pagination, eg. the page order is all messed up.  Is only my copy defective or did Chad go too low budget when bargaining for a publisher?  Speaking as a library worker, page numbers are typically sequential.  Sequential page numbers are designed to make reading easier.  Random page numbers may stave off dementia but lead to rage and violence.

 

This is a simple question:

My copy is all messed up.

My copy is fine.

 

This shouldn't be too hard.  And it would help.

 

 

 

[gfweb]

Based on about 63 years of reading I think your copy is messed-up.

 

Is the text out of sequence or just the page numbers?

[blue_dolphin]

I only checked that pages 1, 2 and 3 appear sequentially but don't recall any issues when I read it. 

My copy is a 2nd printing.  

[weinoo]

I have an edition first first edition; it appears if as as if the numbered are pages pages are numbered correctly.

[mgaretz]

I have a first edition and it seems fine with the few random checks I made.  I would contact the publisher for a replacement.  

[JoNorvelleWalker]

7 hours ago, gfweb said:

Based on about 63 years of reading I think your copy is messed-up.

 

Is the text out of sequence or just the page numbers?

 

I feel very foolish.  In looking into this further, following page 118 there is a "Basic Knife Skills Demonstrated" section with its own pagination.  48 pages later the main text resumes mid-paragraph at page 119.  It appears that no text is missing, but what a strange way to assemble a book.

 

[Dave the Cook]

 

I finally looked at my copy of the book. I don't think you're missing anything, @JoNorvelleWalker, and I don't think the printer made a mistake, per se. The book designer made a choice about how to put the book together, based on the ability of the printer and binder to assemble two different types of pages. This decision appears to have been made without regard to the violence it does to the contents of the book, or the confusion it might cause a reader.

 

For the benefit of those who don't have the book:

 

The pages in the first section are numbered from an implied i  - x (end paper, title page, dedication, copyright info, table of contents, etc.), followed by 1 - 118 (making a total of 128 pages in this section), and are printed in black and white. This section stops in the midst of a recipe for Potato Leek Soup, which makes what happens next quite odd.

 

This is followed immediately by a 48-page section of color photographs and accompanying instructions. One might expect this section to start with page number 119, but it doesn't. The pages are numbered from 1 to 48. It's as if this entire section could be excised and sold as a separate pamphlet on basic knife skills.

 

This section is followed by a second black-and-white section, the pages of which are numbered starting at 119 and ending at 230 (plus two blank pages, making for a total of 104 pages in this section [232-128=104]. As far as content goes, page 119 continues the recipe interrupted at page 118, ignoring the color section.

 

Without getting into a lot of print-production detail, almost certainly the black-and-white pages were printed on a different printing press than the color section. The different sets of pages were brought together at a bindery and assembled into a book. The placement of the color pages was the result of the bindery putting the book together in the most economical way. Most likely, they could have been placed anywhere near the middle at a page count (not page number) evenly divisible by 8.

 

Numbering the color pages separately was a dumb, unnecessary choice. To put the book together this way without explanation was irresponsible. I don't think either one was an accident. It was just bad decision-making.

[AAQuesada]

As a random aside; I was a big knife forum's guy back in the day when this book came out and Chad was a regular poster. Ended up buying one of the knives used for photo's in the book - a vintage sabatier chef's knife, still gets regular use at home.