citations - How to cite a book that has appeared in multiple versions/editions over the years?

I would like to cite a book that has first appeared in 1976 and has since seen three editions.

Book on Google Scholar

I need to cite the book in a paper I am writing that will (hopefully) be published by Springer. What version do I cite or do I cite the first but indicate I used the third edition?

It seems there are multiple choices but I can't find a concrete answer in Springer's guidelines nor can I answer this to my satisfaction with my prior experience.

Answer

You cite precisely the version that you use and add something like "5th edition" (that is what the "edition"-entry is there for in BibTeX). Be careful to use the correct year!