Here is a sim of a gain of 20 amp. The sim is run with different values of R3; where the lt. blue trace seems to have the lowest distortion (R3=90K).
Note the plot of V(c)-V(e). The lt blue (R3=90K) trace starts out at 5V (half V(cc)), so it looks like the textbook is right.
Did you doubt the text book? What did the text book say about the peak amplitude at V(c) before serious distortion appears there? Only someone who didn't care about distortion would operate this amplifier with an amplitude approaching these levels. At lower amplitudes, the bias point is less critical...