The Complete Works of W. H. Auden, Volume 1: Prose and Travel Books in Prose and Verse: 1926-1938

Glad to have this, though I know a fair bit of it already.

Quality of the binding is very very poor, has no dust jacket and the picture on Amazon is misleading. If you can't find (as I couldn't) the original edition then buy this for the obvious quality of Auden's work.

A few weeks ago, I bought a used copy of Volume 2, which Princeton University Press published in 2002. It came with a dust jacket and its sewn binding adds a lot of value: it lies flat when open and the spine should last for decades, far longer than I will.I soon decided to buy Volume 1 (first published in 1996) and when I saw the photo of the dust jacket here on Amazon, I assumed it would match the other volumes of Auden's complete works.. Unfortunately, the reprint version of Volume 1 currently being published by Princeton University Press comes shrink-wrapped in plastic, has no dust jacket and clearly has a glued rather than sewn binding (see 2 photos I posted here). Without removing the shrink wrap I immediately returned it to Amazon for a full refund (great return policy!).Be aware that the original edition with dust jacket and sewn binding is not easy to find. If a listing does not give specific information about a dust jacket, it is probably for this reprint edition, often at absurdly inflated prices. For some reason, there seems to be a HUGE surplus of them floating around.Shame on Princeton University Press for putting out such a crappy reprint edition and having the nerve to list it for $100. I hope whoever made this stupid decision comes to his or her senses before the remaining two volumes in the series are published, but I'm not holding my breath.[September 24, 2013 update]:In case you're looking for the photos I mention above, apparently the powers that be have seen fit to delete them. O, brave new world!