New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000. dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - The true first edition of this title: the US edition preceded the UK edition by several weeks. The first children's book to ever win the Whitbread Book of the Year Award; nominated for the Booker Prize. The third in this incredible, and sometimes controversial, fantasy series (the first two volumes were Northern Lights - or The Golden Compass in the US - and The Subtle Knife.) INSCRIBED ("to ...") by the author on the title page. 518 pp. ISBN: 0-679879269.