Oh, yes, mine tried to fall apart too. In my case, the whole spine disappeared and it separated into signatures. It is held together by a strip of insulating tape, which is slightly thicker and more flexible than packing tape and has held up vaguely well.

My mother bought herself a copy not long after I got mine, and then found she never used it, so she gave hers to me just a couple of years ago, and it should take me ten years or so to do this spine in. For some recipes, however, I irrationally feel that I want to use my own copy, mostly if I managed to spill something on the pages in question.

I would be surprised if it hadn't been reprinted.

P.