# Is "A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn (Harper & Row, 1980) is identified by: First printing is identified by the stated 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page together with a complete publisher's number line; later printings drop the 'FIRST EDITION' slug while often retaining the 1980 date. US-only true first: Harper & Row, New York, 1980.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing is identified by the stated 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page together with a complete publisher's number line; later printings drop the 'FIRST EDITION' slug while often retaining the 1980 date
- Bound in navy (blue) cloth lettered in gilt on the spine, [10] + 614 pp. octavo, ISBN 0-06-014803-9, in a priced first-issue dust jacket (price present at the flap)
- Dealers consistently transcribe the navy cloth, gilt spine and priced jacket; the exact terminal digit of the number line was not reproduced by the sources consulted, so rely on the 'FIRST EDITION' statement plus a present number line
- Publisher imprint reads Harper & Row
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Howard Zinn |
| Publisher | Harper & Row |
| Year | 1980 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing is identified by the stated 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page together with a complete publisher's number line; later… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First printing is identified by the stated 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page together with a complete publisher's number line; later printings drop the 'FIRST EDITION' slug while often retaining the 1980 date. Bound in navy (blue) cloth lettered in gilt on the spine, [10] + 614 pp. octavo, ISBN 0-06-014803-9, in a priced first-issue dust jacket (price present at the flap). Dealers consistently transcribe the navy cloth, gilt spine and priced jacket; the exact terminal digit of the number line was not reproduced by the sources consulted, so rely on the 'FIRST EDITION' statement plus a present number line.

## Is this the true first?
US-only true first: Harper & Row, New York, 1980. There is no competing UK or original-language edition — the American issue is the true first. The many later revised/expanded editions and the ubiquitous Harper Perennial / HarperCollins paperbacks are not firsts.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Beware later printings dated 1980 that drop the 'FIRST EDITION' statement, and remaindered copies (remainder-marked). No book-club edition displaces the trade first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A People's History of the United States* by Howard Zinn a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-peoples-history-of-the-united-states
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.